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Burger King was forced to suppress a "culturally insensitive" ad, which represented a Westerner who was having trouble eating a hamburger with chopsticks, the last Western brand to be accused of making fun of Asian food customs.
The fast-food chain suffered a huge online reaction after posting an ad on Instagram from Burger King, New Zealand, depicting Westerners trying to eat the new "sweet chili Vietnamese tendercrisp burger" with red chopsticks giant.
Advertisement, which seemed to have no Vietnamese, was subtitled: "Take your taste buds to Ho Chi Minh City."
마리아. Maria
(@Mariahmocarey)So this is the new Burger King advertisement for a "Vietnamese" hamburger. Ok coolcoolcoolcoolcool CHOPSTICKS R HILARIOUS right omg etc pic.twitter.com/zVD8CN04Wc
The message, however, was removed after a message condemning advertising as offensive and culturally insensitive went viral, attracting more than 2.7 million views and causing an avalanche of criticism that Burger King was mocking chopsticks and Asian customs.
"The chopsticks are hilarious, is not it," sarcastically tweeted Mo Carey, a New Zealander among the first to advertise.
She added, "I am so sick of racism. Of any kind. From the kind that mocks different cultures, to the one who shoots and murders those who pray peacefully in their place of worship. Say no to each of its manifestations. "
"We asked our New Zealand franchisee to withdraw the announcement immediately," said Burger King in a statement Monday night.
The food chain apologized, acknowledging that the ad was "insensitive and does not reflect our brand's values of diversity and inclusion."
Others pointed out that the main ingredient of hamburger, sweet pepper sauce, was much more common in Thailand, Vietnam,
Burger King is not the first Western society to be accused of making fun of and trivializing the culture of Asian countries in its marketing materials.
Last year, Dolce and Gabbana, Italian fashion brands, were accused of racism and racial stereotypes after posting a video on the Chinese social media site Weibo, showing a Chinese model using chopsticks to try to eat pizza, cannoli and spaghetti. The reaction in China was so huge that some Chinese websites and stores stopped selling Dolce and Gabbana products.
Offensive advertising could also hurt Burger King's presence in Asia. While the fast food chain has failed to gain ground in Vietnam, it is highly valued at the regional level, being the largest US food chain in Malaysia and the second largest in Thailand and Indonesia. The company plans to expand to 1,000 new sites in China.
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