What it had to solve
Get baseball fans talking and track down a mysterious Burger King 'hot dog' during the World Baseball Classic in Puerto Rico.
The idea
Never launch a hot dog: just turn the Whopper on its side so, from the right angle, it looks like one.
How it works
De la Cruz started with a social teaser showing what looked like a new hot dog from an overhead angle. The reveal showed the supposed 'Whopper Dog' was the classic Whopper presented sideways and packaged to surprise hot dog fans. Burger King flipped the logo outside one of its restaurants, ran out-of-home placements across the city and, on game days, set up a cart near the entrances of Hiram Bithorn Stadium selling the 'Whopper Dog'.
What it did
The LBB report gives no sales or reach results. It says the brand sneaked into the baseball conversation, briefly taking the spotlight from the stadium's most traditional food, and cites an estimate of more than 19 million hot dogs eaten each season at MLB stadiums.
Background
During the World Baseball Classic in Puerto Rico, Burger King began teasing what looked like its own hot dog for baseball fans. The visuals seemed to confirm it, but the brand never launched a hot dog: it simply turned its most iconic product, the Whopper, on its side.
The campaign from de la Cruz began with a social teaser, then a reveal 'with a twist, literally'. To take the joke beyond social media, Burger King flipped the logo outside a restaurant, bought out-of-home placements and set up a game-day cart by the entrances of Hiram Bithorn Stadium so fans could buy a 'Whopper Dog' on the way into the ballpark.
Why it lands
Baseball and hot dogs are linked for generations, so the visual pun was instantly readable.
A teaser with no product creates a puzzle fans want to solve.
A cart at the stadium entrance put the joke where the hot dog is normally bought.
What you can take
Changing the angle on an existing product can let a brand borrow a cultural ritual without a new product.
Since then
The LBB report records the cart on game days and the out-of-home placements and gives no later results.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE