BK Taste Lawyers
In early 2025, Burger King Brazil introduced the BK® Taste burger, available in single, double, or triple flame-grilled patty versions topped with a smoky “Taste Sauce.” The burger was designed to compete in the premium segment, but its resemblance to McDonald’s Big Tasty was impossible to ignore.
Brazil is one of Latin America’s most competitive fast-food markets, with McDonald’s holding strong cultural dominance. Burger King, known globally for its cheeky challenger-brand personality, anticipated that critics would accuse them of copying. Instead of avoiding the comparison, they leaned into it with humor and transparency.
Partnering with AlmapBBDO São Paulo, Burger King launched “BK Taste Lawyers”—a campaign that invited actual lawyers to taste the burger and deliver their verdict on whether it was truly original. By turning legal scrutiny into a playful stunt, Burger King transformed a potential liability into a PR win.
Campaign Overview
Activation: Lawyers were invited to Burger King drive-thrus with their attorney ID to claim a free BK® Taste burger.
Creative Twist: By involving lawyers, Burger King humorously “legalized taste,” making originality a matter of playful verdicts.
Hero Film: A campaign video showcased attorneys tasting the burger and delivering verdicts.
Channels: Social media, PR coverage, and in-store activations amplified the stunt.
This wasn’t just a product launch—it was a cultural conversation starter.
Campaign Objective
Preempt criticism by addressing inevitable comparisons to McDonald’s Big Tasty head-on.
Reinforce flame-grilled originality and highlight Burger King’s unique cooking method and sauce innovation.
Generate PR buzz through humor and unexpected endorsers (lawyers).
Drive trial and awareness of the new BK® Taste burger nationwide.
The underlying strategy was simple: own the narrative before competitors or critics could.
Execution
Burger King built a multi-layered activation designed to spark conversation across touchpoints:
Drive-Thru Sampling: Attorneys who presented their professional ID at select Burger King drive-thrus received a free BK® Taste burger. This created exclusivity and authenticity—only “real lawyers” could deliver the verdict.
Hero Film & Content Series: A central campaign film showed lawyers tasting the burger and humorously delivering verdicts on originality. Shorter cutdowns were distributed across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, each highlighting quirky lawyer reactions.
Social Media Amplification: Burger King leaned into memes and witty copy. Posts featured lines like “The jury is in: flame-grilled is original” and encouraged consumers to “defend taste” themselves.
PR & Earned Media: The stunt was picked up by mainstream Brazilian outlets and global advertising press. Headlines framed Burger King as cheeky and confident, reinforcing its challenger brand persona.
In-Store Integration: POS materials and tray liners carried the “BK Taste Lawyers” theme, extending the stunt into everyday customer experience.
Community Engagement: The campaign encouraged consumers to share their own “verdicts” on social media, effectively crowdsourcing additional buzz.
This wasn’t a one-off stunt—it was a 360° activation blending experiential, digital, and PR.
Brand Impact
The campaign delivered more than laughs—it strategically repositioned Burger King in Brazil’s competitive fast-food market:
Credibility Through Humor: By inviting lawyers, Burger King cleverly addressed the copycat narrative with authority and wit. Consumers saw the brand as transparent and self-aware.
Reinforced Flame-Grilled Differentiation: The campaign emphasized Burger King’s unique cooking method and sauce innovation, reminding audiences that while burgers may look similar, taste is what sets them apart.
Cultural Conversation Starter: “BK Taste Lawyers” became a trending topic on Brazilian social media, with consumers joking about “legalizing taste.” This elevated the burger launch into a cultural moment rather than just a menu addition.
Strengthened Challenger Brand Persona: Burger King has long positioned itself as cheeky and daring compared to McDonald’s. This campaign reinforced that DNA, showing BK isn’t afraid to confront competitors head-on.
Business Impact: Trial rates for the BK® Taste burger spiked during launch, with strong awareness nationwide. The stunt helped Burger King carve out space in the premium burger segment.
Results
BK Taste Lawyers became one of Burger King Brazil’s strongest launches, with 129,532 lawyers participating and driving massive organic buzz. The campaign led to 750K+ BK Tastes sold in the first week, a 23% lift in overall sales, 495.7M impressions, and an extraordinary 396% engagement rate—all powered by public debate and zero paid media.
In just three days, thousands of lawyers joined in organically, sharing their legal opinions online and turning the campaign into Burger King’s most successful launch ever in Brazil. And remarkably, it all happened with zero lawsuits from McDonald’s.
- Awards & Recognition: The campaign was recognized at The One Show 2025 in Public Relations (Reputation Management), cementing its creative effectiveness.
Lessons Learned
Anticipate criticism and own the narrative. Burger King turned a liability into a playful strength.
Unexpected endorsers create buzz. Using lawyers added credibility and humor.
Transparency builds trust. Addressing the copycat issue head-on reinforced authenticity.
