“With two identical buns. For equal love & equal rights.” That is the slogan for Burger King Austria’s special, limited-edition Pride Month campaign: “the Pride Whopper,” which the fast-food company introduced last week.
“During this wonderful month, the LGBTQI+ community celebrates their freedom and advocates for recognition and equality in society,” the fast-food chain states on its website. “We at Burger King Austria send a clear signal for equal love and equal rights.”
The Pride Whopper is made up of either two top buns or two bottom buns, representing not only same-sex love, but “all possible love constellations, because love is love.” That is the only difference between a Pride Whopper and a Regular Whopper.
However, you cannot choose whether you get served two top buns or two bottom buns: “Since you are born the way you are, you cannot choose your buns and you are randomly served one of the two variants,” Burger King Austria clarifies.
This burger is meant to symbolise “an example for individuality and freedom and stand for a respectful interaction with each other. Equal rights. Empathy. Understanding.”
The company continues by saying that “no matter where you are from, no matter who you love, no matter what you look like or what you believe in: #TimeToBeProud.”
The campaign raised some eyebrows at first because the Pride Whopper contains either two top buns or two bottom buns,
“Two bottoms? Two tops? What are these gay burgers supposed to be doing?” says one Twitter user.
Or, like Out Magazine put it: “We have to ask, are the two top buns the lesbians? Are the two bottom buns gay men? Or is it the other way around? Does that mean the regular Whoppers are for bisexuals? Is the Big Fish Sandwich for trans women? We need a little clarification.”
While there are a lot of unanswered questions, the campaign has also come under fire with accusations of Pride-washing, referring to the Pride Whopper as “rainbow capitalism,” as stated by several Instagram users.
Under Burger King Austria’s Instagram post, which received over 2,000 comments, many users also asked the company where the profits of these burgers were going; inquiring whether they were being donated to any LGBTQ+ organisations.
To this, the fast-food chain responded that they were partnering with Vienna Pride and that this campaign aligned with “corporate values, which stand for equal opportunities and individuality of our hundreds of employees throughout Austria all year round.”
The Pride Whopper will be available until June 20th in all Burger King stores in Austria
Featured Image Credit: Yahoo News
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