Sunday, January 6, 2008

Get Me My Whopper, Or I Will Keel You!

I was making client meals this afternoon with the New York Giants-Tampa Bay game playing on the tube in the background when this evil Burger King commercial caught my attention.

Have you seen it? Am I the last person on the planet to learn of this new low in hucksterism sullying the public airwaves?


The ad shows videos--Candid Camera-style--wherein Burger King customers have been slipped a competitor's burger instead of the Whopper they ordered. I don't think these greaseballs are acting. I think they are actual, paying diners caught in the act of becoming homicidally irate over the possibility of being denied their Whopper.


Have we really sunk this low?


What am I saying....Of course we've sunk this low.


Keep in mind, we are talking about a "sandwich" that delivers 600 industrially processed calories and 36 grams of artery-choking fat, nearly half the recommended daily dose. But some of these clowns may have actually ordered the Triple Whopper, which packs a liver-splitting 1,130 calories and 74 grams of fat.


It is indeed scary to see Americans working themselves into a slobbering, vein-popping frazzle when denied some of the most harmful, nutritionally bankrupt food on the planet. Even scarier: Burger King apparently is convinced that this approach will sell more Whoppers.


(Note to self: This is the same Burger King that refused to pay a 1-cent-per-pound raise to the cash-strapped workers who pick the Florida tomatoes that garnish those very same Whoppers.)

7 comments:

Peg said...

I completely agree!!! I find those commercials funny but also a bit sad because some of the people seem genuinely downtrodden about not getting their disgusting fast food...it is easy to forget that many people eat at these places daily...

I eat at Burger King about twice a year; it is the only place to eat (other than McDs) on the way to a campsite we stay at yearly; when arriving after a very long drive to set up camp we get a quick meal so we don't have to bother cooking our first night. I get the chicken sandwich. I always regret not packing a peanut butter sandwich from home.

Anonymous said...

Don't they also have a commercial where they supposedly stopped making them for a day?
Don't even get me started on KFC commercials. I could write a dissertation on the corrupt values they propagate!
Disclosure: I do eat McD's cheeseburgers and Taco Bell's taco supreme from time to time. I just don't call it a "meal"- I mean let's be honest, it's junk. But some if it is tasty junk ;-)

Anonymous said...

I remember ordering a triple qtr pound burger at a Wendy's in College (back when it as only availible by adding a patty to the half ound burger instead of a regular menu item). The guy behind the counter got a smirk on his face and commented "Oh... you mean The Widow Maker"

Ah, how I pine for those more truthful times!

David Hall said...

I share your hatred Ed - it makes me sick. I'm not sure who is to blame but it is a massive problem. I teach children in my job, and in the UK we are seeing such problems. The kids are hooked on the fast food joints. We are the fast food addicts of the world. A crying shame.

Thanks
David

Ed Bruske said...

Peg, the truth is, we all eat at the fast food joints once in a while. My daughter loves McDonald's. But we do our best to avoid them as much as possible and make real food at home.

Ramona, the corporate food guys have spent years in the lab devising stuff that's cheap and tastes great. We are willing victims.

Rob, I can remember one of the original McDonald's opening in the town where we grew up. I think burgers were 15 cents and fries were 5 cents, something like that. Dinner there was a special treat, and how we did love those fries.

David, speaking of kids and junk food, my lesson this week is on reading nutrition labels. Lots of fertile territory there. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Anonymous said...

Agreed! This is an example of the spolied lazy, completely borderline insane and fat status this country is in. The one guy who literally looks like he is going to kill the poor clerk because he wont get a whopper is teribly disturbing ( Not that this fat tub of dementia NEEDS a whopper or any other fast food sandwhich ) I understand if you dont get what you ask for..its frustrating...but to reach a point of wanting to talk to a manager because a store decides to sell something other than what they want..is THIER choice. To sit in a drive through and whine about it is just so childish.

Any of these health nuts ever heard of an apple?

Ed Bruske said...

Anonymous, I second those emotions. Couldn't have said it better.