A Real Whopper? NASCAR's Stewart to take live polygraph test in ad
Filed under: Food
Burger King's no stranger to online advertising gimmicks. Remember the "Whopper Sacrifice" from earlier this year, when Burger King asked Facebook members to sacrifice friends to win a free burger? The company's got a new online ad campaign that's playing on the questionable truthfulness of celebrity endorsements. How many times have you questioned whether the stars really enjoy the products they're hawking?
To help assuage doubts, Tony Stewart, the NASCAR driver and more recent Burger King pitchman, will take a polygraph test in a live online spot scheduled to air on Oct. 20. As the ad copy says, "Tony Stewart says he loves the Whopper, and he's taking a polygraph to prove it."
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Burger Kings Tests Tony Stewart
So does he really like Burger King? The celebrity endorser will be put through the test with a polygraph. Click through to see more of Stewart, and more of Burger King's ad antics.
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It's a clever use of the niggling doubt many consumers feel when they see a celebrity endorsing a product. After years of celebrities badmouthing or dumping the products they're purporting to endorse (remember Nancy Kerrigan in 1994 saying in the parade at Disney World that her sponsor was "dumb"?), consumers may be increasingly immune to a celebrity's stamp of approval. Indeed, a 2007 study found celebrity endorsements were less effective than those from ordinary people.
Given the increased cynicism of consumers, Burger King's appointment ad may work by pulling in consumers with its combination of humor and appointment viewing. Officials at Burger King weren't immediately available to talk about the campaign's popularity so far. (Update: Officials have now replied that "The company is confident the online ad will be hit, based on the response it's seen so far, said Cindy Syracuse, senior director of cultural marketing, in an email. She added that while Stewart will be tested by a licensed polygraph expert, traditional tests last several hours, rather than the one-hour test that Stewart will endure.")
And if Stewart fails the polygraph? What happens if it turns out he actually doesn't like Whoppers? Well, as the fine print on Burger King's site says, "This won't be an official test. It's just for fun."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-30-2009 @ 2:09PM
chevyurbancowboy said...
Polyghraph tests prove NOTHING, that's why they are no longer permitted as courtroom evidence. It is EXTREMELY easy to cheat on a polygraph, all one has to do is contol their breathing and clinch their sphincter muscle at the right time.
(I have never been given a polygraph test, I know this information from watching Penn & Teller's BS. That show also proved that organic foods are just a gimick to make more $ and aren't any different than chemically treated foods.)
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9-30-2009 @ 5:12PM
PJS said...
I absolutely LOVED that episode of Penn and Teller. It's amazing what they find out and HOW they find out this stuff. Heh
9-30-2009 @ 7:18PM
pnut166 said...
So you`re a science expert because you watched Penn and Teller? Penn and Teller themselves are science experts? And the sphincter thing? Uh, last I checked, there is no sphincter monitor on a lie detector machine.
9-30-2009 @ 2:17PM
Howard said...
Does it really matter if Tony Stewart likes the whopper or not.
He is paid big money to talk about it. What should matter to someone is if they like the whopper or not. I won't eat something if I don't like it. It does not matter who endorses it.
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9-30-2009 @ 5:13PM
DBS said...
Tell that to Pepsi ...they weren't too thrilled when they saw Brittany Spears drinking Coke instead. I imagine if Tony was eating a Big Mac or liked it better and that information came out -BK might not be too happy.
9-30-2009 @ 7:19PM
pnut166 said...
Looking @ T. Stewart`s waistline, why shouldn`t we believe he loves Whoppers??? Hook one up to, say, Paris Hilton. Then they might be on to something !
9-30-2009 @ 2:41PM
Road Warrior said...
Put Tony on the Maury Show to find out if he is telling the truth..lol
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9-30-2009 @ 2:42PM
steve said...
He looks like he's been eating whoppers.lol
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9-30-2009 @ 3:30PM
Rob said...
No licensed and/or reputable polygraph examiner would ever conduct such an examination--so don't believe anything that comes from this fiasco. Furthermore, polygraph examinations should be confined to exploring a denial of criminal conduct, and are clearly not intended to test the veracity of a persons claim about liking or disliking certain foods. Burger King--give me a break.
P.S. This also may not be an actual polygraph test--but the voice stress machine instead. Either way--don't watch whatever trash they are trying to toss in your direction.
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9-30-2009 @ 3:12PM
jj48isgreat said...
Ha! That's worth the price of admission!
Steve: He was much larger last year. That's why his fire suit was black in the middle...to make him look thinner. He is much slimmer (if you believe that) than he was before. The "old" Tony is coming back but minus his angry side. I guess he had too many trips to the Nascar Trailer.
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9-30-2009 @ 3:39PM
Hugo El Cohen said...
Any celebrity who endorses a product the do not use of like should be able to be sued for false advertising.
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9-30-2009 @ 3:45PM
westsidegrl133 said...
I have and always will be a Tony fan. :D love that #14!!
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9-30-2009 @ 3:54PM
Shirland85 said...
Before he takes that test maybe he should come to the Burger King in my town and eat a Whopper. In my opinion this Burger King has to be the worst
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9-30-2009 @ 4:14PM
undrgrndgirl said...
stewart certainly has other motives for "loving" the whopper that have nothing to do with its taste - such as the $$$ burger king is paying him...
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9-30-2009 @ 4:16PM
Dave said...
How can Tony not pass the test? The Whopper is awesome!
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10-01-2009 @ 12:36PM
Brandon said...
Why does everyone have to be so cynical?! Anyone that has common sense would know that this isn't an actual lie detector test. It's just something Burger King is doing for fun and to give people something to laugh about. If you don't like Whoppers then good for you, but that doesn't mean you have to bring others down by throwing negativity all over something Burger King is trying to have fun with.
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9-30-2009 @ 4:49PM
Dan said...
yummmmmmy love dem whoppers, specially when they're 2 for 3 bucks, slurp slurp pigggggggggyyyyyyyyy
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9-30-2009 @ 5:07PM
Ed said...
All the Whoppers in the world wont get him in front of Jimmy Johnson. They will probably slow him down...LOL
Love that #48
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9-30-2009 @ 5:17PM
jj48isgreat said...
Ed: THAT WAS A GREAT COMMENT! GO 48!!
9-30-2009 @ 6:27PM
Babs said...
I just recently had a Double Whopper - the first in several months. AND, was I dissappointed! Instead of two meat patty's, it was some kind of flat, absolutely tasteless "patty's". If thats what they are now serving, 'dont want any more!
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