Commentary

A Whopper Of A Channel -- For Viewers With a Taste for Static TV

Yule Log. Rotisserie chicken. Whopper sandwiches. Or, things you can watch on TV 24/7, atop flames.

In one of its last campaigns for Burger King (it will soon be replaced by mcgarrybowen), Crispin Porter + Bogusky created a channel on DirecTV that displays nothing but a flame-broiled Whopper sandwich.

Viewers that tuned in to DirecTV channel 111 last week were challenged to stare at a spinning Whopper for 5 minutes. If they were successful, they could get a free Whopper. Those feeling lucky could go double or nothing and win another free Whopper if they watched the channel for an additional 10 minutes. And so on and so on.

Viewers actually had to continuously watch the screen because random pop-ups would appear, prompting them to press a specific button on their remote control. If the button wasn't pushed, bye-bye future Whopper and all earned Whoppers up to that point.

There's no talking on the channel, just the sound of a burger being flame-broiled. Once a viewer tuned in, a countdown to receiving a free Whopper came onscreen.

Coupons will be mailed to the address listed on the DirecTV account.

As of noon Friday, "Whopper Lust" had given away 73,593 Whoppers, confirming that Americans have hearty appetites for food and free stuff. Do the math, and that equates to 597,560 minutes of people watching one perpetual ad.

Upon first viewing a TV channel that's all Whopper, all the time, I'm reminded of the holiday Yule Log channel that runs from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.

I'm also reminded of a Canadian campaign I wrote about in February for Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken.

Swiss Chalet ran a 24/7 cable channel on Rogers Television for three months consisting of nothing more than rotating chickens above a flame. Promotional codes, that changed daily, would occasionally appear onscreen, driving viewers to the company's Facebook page to collect coupons.

Who knew that branded food channels that offer valueless content, aside from free or discounted food, could be so popular?

What would you rather look at continuously? Rotating rotisserie chicken or a spinning Whopper?

1 comment about "A Whopper Of A Channel -- For Viewers With a Taste for Static TV".
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  1. Jeffrey Jones from Word.Jones, June 20, 2011 at 9:31 p.m.

    This makes me want to puke.

    Great indicator of where we're headed as a nation. This is not fun. Amusing, or in any way I what would want to do as "creative". No wonder the U.S. has such a pathetic health record, especially among the low income and minorities, urban or anywhere.

    Apparently this crap rots your brain, too.

    Thanks Amy for holding a mirror up for us to gaze into.

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About the Author

Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.