Not many people know that Burger King pulled out of France for 15 years between 1997 and 2012. But actually, it's true. And the fast-food chain comically revisits that nightmare scenario in a new seven-minute mockumentary from agency Buzzman.
Whopper addicts lose their minds, black-market dealers, counterfeiters and smugglers capitalize, and law enforcement officials enter into a game of Whac-a-Mole against illicit trade in a video that manages to cram in every genre trope imaginable.
Overall, it's willfully idiotic and melodramatic, pushed to the degree where it's at least forgivable on the grounds of being goofy, if not always necessarily funny. But in the ad's most shining moment, a man brags about hoarding burgers in a padlocked and heavily surveilled basement freezer for 10 years, rationing the precious sandwiches.
To be fair, the absurdist concept exceeds the mixed execution, which could be seen at moments as trivializing coverage, such as it is, of more serious topics—or substance abuse epidemics more broadly. Before anyone bristles too much, though, it's worth remembering that fast-food burgers probably aren't much better for you than some narcotics.
Plus, it's worth mentioning the war on drugs has been largely futile—even without the possibility, which seems more reasonable here, that the illicit substances in question could literally sprout legs and scurry away when the cops come knocking.
CREDITS
Client: Burger King
Marketing Director: Béatrice Roux
Marketing Project Managers: Bérénice Charles, Marine Dupas
Agency: Buzzman
President and Executive Creative Director: Georges Mohammed-Chérif
Vice - President: Thomas Granger
Associate Director: Julien Levilain
Copywriting and Artistic Direction: Romain Pergeaux
Artistic Director Assistants: Yohan Benazzouz, Gabriel Palut, François Laboué
Account Managers: Pierre Guengant, Loïc Coelho, Clémence Gateau
Social Media Managers: Julien Scaglione, Loris Bernardini, Marie le Scao
Communication and P.R. Managers: Amélie Juillet, Clara Bascoul-Gauthier
TV Production and Art Buying: Vanessa Barbel, Katya Violi, Benoit Crouet
Producer:Rudy Tasimovicz
Production Manager: Gilles Vatinet
Production: Why Us
Post Production: Nightshift
Music and Sound Design:Schmooze
Director:Simon Levene
Media Agency: MEC