Burger King’s ‘OK Google’ Ad Stunt Backfires

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Burger King’s new “OK Google” ad has backfired on it due to some clever Wikipedia users.

Burger King's 'OK Google' Ad Stunt Backfires

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The new ad from Burger King only lasts for 15 seconds, but it goes on after the commercial ends. The ad has a Burger King employee saying “OK, Google. What is the Whopper burger?” This has the virtual assistant read the description of the hamburger from Wikipedia.

Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR) edited Wikipedia before the ad went live. It changed the description so that the virtual assistant would heap praises on its sandwich.

Unfortunately for Burger King, Wikipedia was quick to change back its edits. Also, once people figured out what the company was up to, they made their own edits to Wikipedia. This includes describing the Whopper burger as the “worst hamburger product”. Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOG,GOOGL) Google has also blocked the ad and says it wasn’t involved in it, reports BBC News.

Google likely blocked Burger King’s “OK Google” ad by registering the audio in its database. It does this with its own commercials to keep them from triggering the devices. This means that owners of the virtual assistants can still ask it what a whopper burger is and get a response.

Wikipedia is also putting an end to the shenanigans that the Burger King commercial started. It has locked the Whopper Burger Wikipedia page. This means that only authorized administrators are allowed to make edits to it, The Verge notes.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/04/burger-king-ok-google-qsr/.

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