Burger King Slammed for Seducing 'Whopper Virgins'

Campaign to bring burger to newbies leaves bad taste in critics' mouths
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2008 8:44 AM CST

Burger King is catching flak for taking the burger wars to places that don't even have a word for burger, Wall Street Journal reports. In a campaign critics are calling crass, the company sought out "Whopper Virgins" in far-flung locations from Greenland to Transylvania who had never eaten a burger before, and asked them to compare the taste of a Big Mac and a Whopper.

Burger King says the "virgins" campaign was conducted with the utmost respect, but bloggers and nutritionists accuse the company of  exploiting poor villagers. "The ad's not even acknowledging that there's even hunger in any of these places," said a spokesman for Food First, who branded the campaign insensitive. (More fast food stories.)

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