Grabarz & Partner, creative lead agency of Burger King Germany, captured worldwide attention with a simple paper crown. In a guerilla campaign, the agency presented King Charles III with a special royal edition of the Burger King crown during his first official state visit to Berlin and thereby turned him into an involuntarily, but delighted brand ambassador.
The unofficial coronation was preceded by an open letter on Instagram, through which Burger King Germany addressed King Charles III directly, exclusively offering him the new crown. This teaser generated significant interest and anticipation among social media users for what Burger King Germany had in store for the King’s visit to Berlin.
On March 29th upon his visit while greeting royal fans, King Charles III was surprised with a newly designed crown resembling the official St Edward’s Crown. But unlike the original, the Burger King crown is not for the King alone to be worn, but for each and everyone, standing for the brand’s values such as equality, love and each person’s right to be just the way they are.
Offering the King the Burger King crown visibly amused His Majesty and was picked up by the media as a major highlight of the state visit. The campaign was immediately covered in mainstream news outlets all over the world as well as in social media, generating not only PR but smiles and engagement from audiences worldwide.
For this campaign, lead agency Grabarz & Partner teamed up with Ketchum & emanate PR, dentsu X, David+Martin and Burgerware.
Felix Fenz, CCO of Grabarz & partner about the campaign said "We're happy King Charles III liked our Burger King Crown as much as we do. This was definitely the craziest influencer stunt we did so far. God save the Burger King."
Klaus Schmäing, director of marketing at Burger King Germany added "For us, being King means being authentic, being tolerant, not taking yourself too seriously. Just be who you are. True to our motto 'Have it your way.'”