BBH is putting the spotlight on the nation’s most famous chicken burger - Burger King’s Chicken Royale in a campaign that taps into a truth that for some, the Home of the Whopper, isn’t all about the beef.
But instead of a clichéd food porn, shot of a golden chicken fillet gently landing onto a bed of crisp iceberg lettuce, BBH’s response is “We Give Up”. – an idea driven by the fact that, in spite of receiving very little promotion by Burger King, the Chicken Royale is consistently one of the restaurant’s best-selling burgers, and has made a more favourable impression on internet users than rival offerings.
“We Give Up” highlights just how much effort Burger King UK has put into making the Whopper famous; spending millions over the decades, and dubbing itself the Home of it – only for certain diners to consistently choose the Chicken Royale when they visit a restaurant.
To learn more, we spoke to BBH copywriter Oliver Short, art director Jennifer Ashton and agency film producer Victoria Doran.
What was the brief?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
We had a great brief… Essentially to sell the Chicken Royale, using the Whopper. Or something along those lines. There was immediate tension in the fact that BK is ‘Home of the Whopper’ and has been for years, yet there is a loyal group of people who LOVE the Chicken Royale. It’s ironic.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
Once we discovered this ironic Chicken Royale truth, we knew it had to be shared with the world. We had multiple ways in, but dramatising this story through the lens of Whopper’s iconic, 65 year long history felt exciting, right and undeniably Burger King.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
The idea of 65 years of trying meant we had to dive into 65 years of advertising. To show how, regardless of Whopper’s relentless efforts to get people’s attention, there are still some who choose Burger King’s crispy underdog. The Chicken Royale.
A lot of fun discoveries were made about Whopper’s history in this part of the process. All of the vintage merch, all of the nostalgic ads. It made us wish that Whopper headphones still existed, but luckily we had an incredible art department who brought them back to life for us.
What was the production process like?
AGENCY FILM PRODUCER: Victoria Doran
As always throughout any production it has its roller-coaster moments. Specifically for this project, creating the various era’s required multiple setups, cast, wardrobe, various shots and a huge amount of art department to capture each moment. All this had to be done within a 3 week pre-production period and 3 day shoot.
It was intense at times but the collaboration between BBH, Burger King, Riff Raff, Orange Films and The Mill made the experience smooth and fun. No one gave up!
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
AGENCY FILM PRODUCER: Victoria Doran
Again, the most challenging part was the sheer volume of art department, wardrobe, and Artwork we had to create ahead of the shoot, in a short space of time. it was nothing our team couldn’t handle - the Creative team at BBH and Director Ed (Sacred Egg) divided and conquered in all areas to deliver in time and master the era’s.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
AGENCY FILM PRODUCER: Victoria Doran
- All the latest gear that the incredible crew in South Africa use.
- Autodesk Flame for comp & timeline management
- Nuke for comp
- Baselight for Grade
- Houdini for CG
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during Production?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
Look closely and you can see our guy is a Chicken Royale lover from the very start thanks to some easter eggs we decided to throw in, on the morning of the shoot (sorry Art Department).
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
That the Whopper will always be Burger King’s first love, its first born, its pride and joy. Despite that, all the Chicken Royale lovers can have their beloved sandwich. Even if it is served with a bit of an eye roll.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
3 months creative conception, 1 month pre production/shoot, 4 months post production and 2 months patiently waiting for it to come out.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short & ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
We hope it makes Whopper lovers love Whopper even more.
We hope it makes Chicken Royale lovers love the Chicken Royale even more.
We hope it makes Whopper and chicken burger lovers give the Chicken Royale a chance.
In short, we hope it sells loads of burgers. Both burgers.
Credit list for the work
Soco Núñez de Cela - Brand and Communications Director
Katie Evans - Chief Marketing Officer
Suzi Hoy - Senior Brand Manager - Burger King
ADVERTISING AGENCY: BBH
CCO: Alex Grieve
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Helen Rhodes
DEPUTY EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Felipe Guimaraes
COPYWRITER: Oliver Short
ART DIRECTOR: Jennifer Ashton
DESIGNER: James Parkinson & Josh Bailey
GROUP STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Saskia Jones
SENIOR PLANNER: Laura Casado Cisa
BUSINESS LEAD: James Rice
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Laura Huber
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Zimini Fongho
AGENCY FILM PRODUCER: Victoria Doran
AGENCY ASSISTANT FILM PRODUCER: Rebecca Ellis
AGENCY PRINT PRODUCER: Lauren Daniels
MEDIA PLANNER: IProspect
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Riff Raff
FILM DIRECTOR: Sacred Egg
DOP: Benjamin Todd
EP: Jane Tredget
PRODUCER: Kate Brady
EDITOR: Sam Bould
EDITORS: Final Cut Edit
POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: The Mill
POST-PRODUCTION PRODUCER: Louise Unwin, Saskia Delius
2D LEAD ARTIST: Carl Norton
3D LEAD ARTIST: Andy Steele
GRADE: The Mill
COLOURIST: Philip Hambi
SOUND STUDIO: String and Tins
SOUND ENGINEER: Adam Smyth
MUSIC COMPOSER: Composed by The Infinity Orchestra the composition is called 'Whopper Whopper’
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Jacob Wheeler
MUSIC COMPANY: Major Tom
PHOTOGRAPHER: Lou Escobar
PR AGENCY: Splendid
SOCIAL AGENCY: Coolr
