Burger King Gets Creative to Encourage Social Distancing

As the rallying cry goes, everyone has a role to play in the effort to contain and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. For Burger King, that means leveraging an internationally recognized brand to promote social distancing, and the franchise is finding creative ways to do just that.

In Italy, Burger King has introduced its new “Social Distancing Whopper,” which boasts (or cautions) of three times the normal amount of raw onions, providing eaters a natural repellent to keep other people at least six feet away.

In Germany, the franchise recently debuted “Social-Distance Crowns” — massive cardboard Burger King crowns with a three-foot radius preventing close contact. 

"We wanted to reinforce the rules of high safety and hygiene standards that the BK restaurants are following," a Burger King representative told Business Insider. "The do-it-yourself social-distance crown was a fun and playful way to remind our guests to practice social distancing while they are enjoying food in the restaurants."

Here in the U.S., Burger King released an ad back in April showing viewers how to make their own “Quarantine Whoppers” at home.

Advertising during the COVID-19 crisis has proven tricky, with some accusing the more somber efforts of being disingenuous and cynical, while the less reverent spots risk seeming tone-deaf or callous. Reactions to Burger King’s coronavirus-related spots have so far been mostly positive. As dine-in restaurants begin to reopen in markets across the world, we’re sure to see a range of new marketing efforts from Burger King and other franchise brands hoping to drive consumers back into restaurants.