For the past few weeks there has been a swirl of controversy surrounding Burger King’s new quasi-documentary style video about Whopper Virgins (people from remote areas of the world who have never eaten a hamburger, or specifically a Whopper) losing their “Whopper virginity”. As Burger King likely expected, much of the feedback towards this has been negative, with humanitarian advocates (or they became advocates upon watching this video at least) expressing their outrage that Burger King would ever dream of disturbing the pure and uninterrupted lives of these people and corrupt them by exposing them to unhealthy food provided by an evil fast food empire. Oh, and they said “virgin”. Eek.

Personally, I think this video is harmless and amusing. Sure, it’s a bit controversial, but clearly that is working in BK’s favour. The most entertaining part is seeing how people try to actually eat the burger as the concept is so foreign. (I felt the same way the first time a cooked pigeon and a pair of plastic gloves was put in front of me. I was not thinking “How dare these people corrupt me by making me eat a bird that I consider a pest?” Mostly, I just thought it was funny and I dove in head first.)

Clearly, those who made the following comments do not think the Whopper Virgin idea is so amusing. There have been a lot of ridiculous comments, but here are my three favourites… followed by my two cents.

(1) “Never mind distasteful. This commercial has caused parents all over the U.S to have to define “virgin” to very young children who think Burger King is about fries, meal toys, and people in burger costumes. It’s annoying.”

Okay, one track mind. Virgin does not have to be related to sex. If my young child, after watching the BK ad, asked me “Whattttssavvvirrrgiinnnnmoooooommmmm?” I would say “Virgin means that you haven’t done something before. These people have never eaten a Whopper.” There is no need to get into the details of the burgers and the bees unnecessarily, people.

(2) “It’s bad enough our own food industry is trying to kill us, but shoving this excrement down the faces of people who – if the nonsense advertising hype is to be believed – have never had a “hamburger” before will make them physically sick. The filth and chemistry involved in making the “American sandwich” is bad for human organisms, plain and simple. Too bad the camera crews didn’t stick around for the sugar crash and rounds of diarrhea that ensued an hour or so after the poor people ate this slop.”

While I am in no way claiming that Burger King is healthy, at the end of the day, eating the burger was voluntary for these people and they ate one hamburger! The BK crew likely did not leave the villages with a lifetime supply of Whoppers with which to kill themselves. Eating a daily burger is obviously not healthy, but eating one in the course of forty years – as will be the case for many of these people – is not going to kill them.

(3) “I find this offensive because Burger King is going to ultra-poverty areas and giving them some burger just so they can tell Americans that their burger is better, and after doing all this, they do nothing to help these poor areas out.”

This is just one of many comments alluding to the fact that the BK crew invaded poor villages with starving people and teased them with a hamburger only to desert them and leave them to starve once again. It is ignorant to assume that just because the people in this video are not living in urban sprawl surrounded by restaurants that they are poor and suffering. Having spent time in a remote village in Chiang Mai (seemingly the poorest of the bunch according to this video) I am not denying that these villagers have less than the average American – of course they do! But their material standards are totally different.

Overall, what I liked about the Whopper Virgins video is that it got people talking. It’s no Motrin Moms – which went way over the line and received overwhelmingly negative press – but rather, it has raised questions and sparked debate about ethical advertising. In my opinion, it’s the best of Burger King’s generally bad advertising. And hey, it’s better than Fire Meets Desire and the creepy King.

Where do you stand?