Burger King Google Home advertisement

Burger King Google Home advertisement
Still image from the advertisement
ClientBurger King
LanguageEnglish
Running time0:15
Product
Release dateApril 2017
CountryUnited States

On April 12, 2017, Burger King released a commercial which intentionally triggered Google Home smart speakers with the phrase "OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?"[1] In response, the speakers would read the opening description of the Whopper Wikipedia article. Although upon release the page had been edited by Burger King, vandalism of the page forced the company to drop the advertisement shortly after, and the Wikipedia page was locked.

As part of their "Connected Whopper" campaign,[2] Burger King announced plans to release the Google Home focused commercial on April 12, 2017. The commercial, shortened to 15 seconds, contains the dialogue "You’re watching a 15-second Burger King ad, which is unfortunately not enough time to explain all of the fresh ingredients in the Whopper sandwich. But I’ve got an idea,” the narrator says with a conspiratorial smirk, standing behind the counter at the burger chain. “OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?"[3] This final phrase would trigger any nearby Google Home speakers to read a snippet of the Wikipedia article on the Whopper, edited by Burger King's marketing team.[4]

Response

From left to right: the original Google Home, and a vandalized version of the Whopper Wikipedia page

Soon after the commercial dropped, the Whopper Wikipedia page became a ground for edit wars and vandalism, so that Google would read vandalized Wikipedia entries out loud.[5][6]

When the commercial was first released, Wikipedia's noticeboard took immediate notice, blocking Burger King's suspected accounts, as well as Google taking action to refuse to read out loud "What is the Whopper burger" prompts, and the Wikipedia page being reverted to its pre-ad state, and editing being restricted to administrators only.[5] Burger King pulled the commercial less than a day later.[4][7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Burger King's Sneaky New TV Ad Tricks Your Google Home Into Talking About the Whopper". April 12, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Wikipedia's also not happy about that Burger King ad". Marketing Dive. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  3. ↑ Cush, Andy (April 12, 2017). "People Are Expertly Trolling the Whopper Wikipedia Page Over This Dystopian Burger King Ad". SPIN. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Burger King advert sabotaged on Wikipedia". BBC News. April 13, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Kastrenakes, Jacob (April 12, 2017). "Burger King's new ad forces Google Home to advertise the Whopper". The Verge. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Burger King's Whopper gets prank Wikipedia edits in ad gag". 6abc Philadelphia. April 13, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  7. ↑ DeJesus, Erin (April 19, 2017). "Wikipedia Is the Next Internet Giant to Be Mad at Burger King". Eater. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
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