Burger King Fed Apartment-Hunters With Secret In-Home Restaurant
Imagine you’re on the hunt for a new, affordable apartment in a big, expensive city. You’ve spent all day going from place to place, hoping to find one that even slightly resembles what the rental agent promises. Then you go check out a possible pad, only to find out there is an operational, pop-up Burger King inside.
That’s exactly what happened to home-seekers in Madrid who unwittingly stepped into a “surprise!” marketing campaign for BK Spain’s new home delivery service.
The agency responsible for the stunt tells AdWeek’s AdFreak that it took three days to put together the “Whopper Apartment” in Madrid. A rep says that crew members had to lug the entire restaurant — including a 660 lb. counter — piece by piece up to the third-floor apartment because there was no elevator.
To ensure that enough people showed up, the agency listed the Whopper Apartment for about half of what it would go for no the current rental market. And it worked, with about 800 people calling to make appointments in just five days.
And when they showed up, the tease continued, with a (presumably fake) agent showing them all the apartment’s many fine features before hitting them with the Whopper whammy in the kitchen.
While it makes for an amusing video, and the folks were actually treated to free Burger King food, I can imagine some people were a little sore that this dream listing was just a marketing campaign.
In the end, the apartment did find a new tenant, but at market price and sans the BK counter.
Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.