In an attempt to re-brand itself as the Riverdale’s Jughead of the fast food world, Burger King is introducing a series of “Real Meals” that exude much darker, more complex vibes than the Happy Meals served by rival chain McDonald’s. These combo meals — consisting of a Whopper, fries, and a drink — come in five different boxes, marked with different “moods” including blue, salty, yasss, pissed, and DGAF.
how's everyone feeling?
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) April 30, 2019
To promote these brooding cheeseburger meals, the King also released a commercial showing various young people performing slam poetry (how hip, how current!) about all the troubles in their lives. This parade of sad youths includes: a high school girl who finds the word “skank” written on her locker, a corporate climber who just got canned by her creepy boss , a scruffy bro who realizes he can’t afford to move out of his parents’ house, a young mom who feels judged by everyone, and a dude realizing that he just got ghosted. “All I ask is that you let me feel my way,” the pretty young people sing together. The commercial closes with the message, “No one is happy all the time. And that’s okay.” Feed your sadness or anger with a Whopper, won’t you? Lexapro can wait.
Like Steak-umms did last year, Burger King is using meme-able depression to sell junk food. In an announcement about this stunt, the brand notes that it “partnered with Mental Health America on the campaign and selected May for launch as it is Mental Health Awareness Month,” but there is no indication that the King is actually donating any money — or proceeds from the sale of Real Meals — to any advocacy groups or non-profit organizations. If the company was really sincere about promoting mental health awareness, it wouldn’t hawk its limited-time-only combo meals in the same breath. The message, it seems, is that if you’re feeling lost or sad, you should buy a Whopper box.
Like many brands these days, Burger King regularly launches stunts and pranks to try and stand out from the rest of the fast food pack, although this appears to be the first time the brand is leaning into millennial and Gen Z ennui in one of its ad campaigns. The limited-edition combo meals will be available at select locations throughout May in Austin, Seattle, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City — slam poetry verses, not included.