Cannes Lions: Christopher Clément, Social Media Lead, explains his favourite campaign

Few brands like Burger King can boast such a strong following on social media. At a time when engagement and the ability to generate long-term conversations are more than ever the sinews of war in our hyper-competitive world, Burger King’s ‘unnoticed burger’ campaign is undoubtedly once again the stuff of genius.

The genius of this campaign, in which advertising and pre-campaign investment was zero, produced exceptional results: 22 million views, 3.2 million likes, 83,000 comments – all on TikTok.

By changing a simple line in its general terms and conditions on its website, Burger King triggered a veritable phenomenon, viewed by 78% of French TikTok users.

The line stated that anyone followed by the Burger King account on TikTok could receive a free Whopper.

Masdak, a well-known TikToker specialising in law and finance, investigated: when the campaign was launched, he was the only user followed by the brand’s TikTok account.

This hijacking of such a basic functionality of a website, but also of Social Media (namely the function of following a user) enabled Burger King to achieve the most engaging campaign on TikTok in 2023, as well as winning an award at Cannes Lions.

It should inspire us to think more cleverly about our next campaigns, with one thing in mind: there’s nothing stronger than an engaged community.