On Tuesday, June 19th, Burger King Russia introduced a promotion that they’ve since ended and are now apologizing for. The campaign offered $47,000 and free Whopper sandwiches for life to women who became pregnant with the child of a World Cup player. Yikes.
The Burger King Russia promotion was only live on the Russian social media site VK.com for mere hours before the company pulled it due to outrage. According to APNews.com, the campaign encouraged women to get impregnated by World Cup players, in order to pass down “the best football genes” and to “ensure the success of the Russian team for generations to come.”
The company’s VK page released an apology later that day that translates to, “We apologize for the statement we made. It turned out to be too insulting. We thank you for the feedback and hasten to inform you that we have already removed all materials related to the application.”
On Wednesday, the North American branch of Burger King told APNews.com, “We are sorry about the clearly offensive promotion that the team in Russia launched online. [The offer] does not reflect our brand or our values and we are taking steps to ensure this type of activity does not happen again.”
CNN reports that the controversial Burger King Russia promotion came only weeks after a Russian lawmaker urged her female constituents to refrain from sex with World Cup players. She stated that Russian women “should give birth to our own.” What gives?
Burger King's Russia franchise have had to apologise after they did a social media campaign offering a lifetime supply of Whopper burgers and 3 Million Russian Roubles to women if they get impregnated by footballers during the World Cup!
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) June 20, 2018
Via: @guardian pic.twitter.com/SH178djMkz
We’re confused and angered that Burger King Russia would think such a promotion is a good idea. Getting pregnant or not should only be up to those involved, and isn’t something to do just to get free Whoppers for life.
