With Burger King's expansion into fresh fruit smoothies and salads, the chain is clearly abandoning its single-minded focus on the hungry beef-eating young guys who count ketchup as the primary source of vegetables in their diet.
In its biggest marketing push to date, Burger King is using the star power of celebrities like Jay Leno, Mary J. Blige and Steven Tyler to draw attention to its revamped menu, which might otherwise be overlooked among offerings that have already been in the market from competitors like McDonald's. Global football phenomenon David Beckham is featured in the campaign's first spot from recently added roster agency Mother in New York.
What better way to get the attention of female consumers than with the Los Angeles Galaxy's metrosexual poster boy? Beckham has been known to wear sarongs and pink nail polish and his wife Posh Spice's undies—claims she makes on TV and he likes to deny, even as he recently revealed ambitions to design a new line of women's underwear. Beckham has never looked too shabby covered in sweat on the playing field, but in this BK spot, he turns on his heartthrob charisma as he orders a strawberry and banana smoothie and melts not only the counter server but also her (male) manager.
The midfielder has a long endorsement history, ranging from Motorola, Gillette, Adidas, Pepsi and Vodaphone to the improbable Sharpie markers. Even though his on-field career is fading (he turns 37 next month), his commercial endorsements last year still made him the second-highest-paid footballer in the world, earning $41.5 million, trailing only Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
While most of those previous advertising deals were fronted by David Beckham as an athlete in his prime, his profile with most consumers in the U.S. has largely been associated with slick Armani underwear ads and his elitist-fashionista wife. Since the onetime Manchester United player moved to California, he's even appeared in the state's tourism ads. The BK commercial plays up his Hollywood looks, slicked-back hair and fashionable stubble, even as he goes mainstream with the fast-food masses.
CREDITS:
Client: Burger King
Agency: Mother, New York