Asahi.com news has announced: From yesterday September 16th until October 15th Burger King Japan has introduced their new promotional campaign for Japan. For ¥750 yen, you can eat all the Burger King Whoppers you like within a 30 minute period.
バーガーキング・ジャパンは、１６日～１０月１５日までの期間限定で、ハンバーガー「ＷＨＯＰＰＥＲ（ワッパー）」のおかわりができるようにする。「“Ｂ”ｉｋｉｎｇ（バイキング）」と銘打った初の試み。ＭＭサイズ以上のバーガーと飲み物やポテトなどのセットメニュー（基本価格税込み７５０円）を完食すれば、３０分間は追加で注文できる
What kind of an idiot thought of this?
In Japan, it is well-known that, generally, if you do not capture the imagination of women, you aren't going to make it. I think that a campaign like will not only NOT capture the imagination of the women in this country (a country that is constantly in diet-craze mode) but it will be a massive turn-off. Burger King people... If you don't go for the women in Japan, then might as well close up shop right now... Fat Japanese guys will probably setlle for convenience store bento, thank you.
Just the sound of this campaign "smells" bad.
This kind of campaign might go pretty well in some places in the USA where obesity is the norm, but in Japan, this sort of campaign will just turn people off.
Burger King had shops in Japan before but they went bankrupt... I think with campaigns like this, they will probably go bankrupt again.
I asked my Japanese wife what she thought of this and she said, "Who is going to eat that? Nobody!" My 6-year-old son said, "That makes me want to throw up."
Yes. This is an idiot promotion. If Burger King had any brains or a promotion company that understood Japan at all, they be doing something else like just giving away a thousand burgers to the first 1000 customers or something. It is basic and common sense that, after any sort of food, music, entertainment, whatever, you always leave with the audience wanting more....
With all-you-can-eat Whoppers you will leave with the audience wanting to throw up and never even wanting to smell those burgers again. This promotion is a royal FAIL!
Thanks to my good friend Graham Carpenter for turning me onto this.
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Keywords: Burger King, Mike Rogers, Hamburger, Marketing Japan, Whopper, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, all-you-can-eat
8 comments:
Mike, what about that Japanese food eating champion,Takeru Kobayashi, you know, the one that got arrested and was banned from competing in America's hot dog eating contest? He's a skinny Japanese guy. I hope he shows up and eats 1000 Whoppers! And if BK can convince a few of the heavier Sumo wrestlers to compete, fat against skinny Kobayashi, I sense a huge marketing success. Are you still sure this campaign is a bad idea?
Hmmm Andy, good point...
Kobayashi doesn't live in Japan... The sumo guys won't eat this unless they are paid... Maybe BK is smart enough to pay sumo guys to show up? Or maybe that is a bad image for them too...(fat guys eating burgers)...
Hmmm.... we'll see, but I think giving away burgers for free would have been much better.
Time will tell
Then again, Burger King isn't the only one doing such a gluttonous campaign. Not a long time ago we had McDonald's having an "all you can eat french fries" campaign, and the Japanese fast food burger Lotteria having a "ten-patty megaburger" campaign.
Tabe-houdai has been popular among young folks, both men and women, for quite a while. Few years ago the "deka-mori" mega-sized food eating was the national boom. These kind of things have in the past been quite popular and successful. Maybe it's the economy: people want to have their "zeitaku" by pigging out on junk food because they can't quite afford that vacation to Hawaii (or anywhere else for that matter).
Hi Mike. Im happy to read your article but I am a little surprised about your conclusion.
Firstly as regards to the comment about the country being on a constant diet-mode, Im dont not so sure. If you look at the places where salerymen are taking their lunch (salerymen counts for a significent percentage of the population). Often ramen, curry-rise, tonkatsu, tempura. Of course you have sushi, but that is still fairly expensive as a daily meal.
If you look at the food offered at various izakayas and original dinner restaurants you will find yakitori, yakiniku, shabu shabu etc.
I am working just next Kanda station in Tokyo and I have a Burger King less than 300m from my office. Normally Im going there a few times a month and during lunch time there is normally a queue of 5-10min,which is more than average in this area. After this promotion kicked in, it is impossible to go there unless you wanna spend the whole day waiting.
Also, the people you find in Burger King is no 90% men. Actually I find there are more women taking their unhealthy lunch at Burger King than men.
My view is limited to just one store and one area, so it doesn’t really give a broad overview, but it is definitely another picture than the one I read in your article.
(I cant log into my g-mail for some reason so I have to post anonymous, sorry)
Dear Anonymous,
Thanks. Really? Lines for burgers? Wow! OK, then I have to eat my hat. And there's more women than men!!!!????
Dont eat your hat man... you can get as many whoppers you want for 750yen...!
I have a whopper music box made by berman and anderson inc. early 70's wonder if anyone knows anything about this?
Not sure about your music box but I found a ceramic whopper piggy piggy bank that was manufactured by berman and anderson today at a thrift store! Did you find anything out because I cant either! And btw...who could eat more than 2 whoppers ever? Yuck! Even two is pushing it!!! I am lucky to finish one, and wont eat another one for atleast 2 months after that!
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