"Rainbow Capitalism is ridiculous": Burger King Austria receives immense backlash after unveiling 'Pride Whopper' 

Burger King Austria has come out with a "Pride Whopper," but the internet is not a fan.

The company wanted to extend their support to the LGBTQ+ community through their burgers throughout June, which is famous as Pride Month. However, the idea did not go well with social media users, who pointed out a significant flaw in the burgers' design. This resulted in the brand getting brutally trolled by netizens.

The "Pride Whoppers" will be available until June 20.

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Burger King wanted to share a message of equality

The company posted about the Pride burger on Instagram, with the caption (translated):

"With two identical buns. For equal love & equal rights. We present the PRIDE WHOPPER®. A special edition with two equal buns for equal love and equal rights."

The post continues:

"We are setting an example for individuality and freedom and stand for respectful interaction with each other. Equal rights. Empathy. Understanding. No matter where you are from, no matter who you love, no matter what you look like or what you believe in #TimeToBeProud"

The burgers come with either the top halves of the bun or the bottom halves on both sides of the burger. The buns are supposed to represent the same sexes, representing g*y relationships.

However, internet users quickly pointed out that the buns can represent "tops" and "bottoms" in a relationship. The words represent s*xual roles during intimate acts, especially in homos*xual relationships.

Angelica Gianchandani, a practitioner in residence for brand marketing and the executive MBA program at the University of New Haven, described the campaign as "cheeky."

"The ad is definitely 'cheeky' to make people smile, however it does leave room for interpretation."

She also added:

"Burger King's brand is not known to be 'cheeky, smart, and clever.' The intention is to be playful, and the campaign has caught customers off guard."

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Netizens react to Burger King campaign

Instagram users were quick to point out the double meaning of the design and in the post's comments. They joked about the campaign, questioning the company's marketing team.

Instagram users were not a fan of the campaign (Image via @burgerkingaustrai/Instagram)

Yurimiauw commented:

"Burger king really said : the tops and bottoms may EAT now"

Sofiawolfrosa could see the humor behind the campaign:

"Y'all are complaining but this is lowkey funny"

Jarett referred to the innuendo behind the pride whopper, saying:

"LOL this isn’t doing what you think it is honey"

Daleramirez commented on the creative decision behind the campain, saying:

"I NEED to see the creative brief on this campaign"

Akearma commented:

"Your social media manager needs (to get) fired"

Dan Oliver said:

"Some straight people came up with this and thought it was a great idea"

Seansimonduprey commented:

"So two tops and two bottoms. Usually wouldn’t work…."

Many questioned if the brand was donating money to the LGBTQ+ causes or if the campaign was a cash-grab scheme.

Danica Post said the the company would have been better off donating:

"This is so f**king stupid. Just donate the damn money. This is off key virtue signalling and it’s embarrassing"

Leonmahncke expressed their opinions on current capitalism:

"Late capitalism is a great time to be alive"

Andressostos asked:

"Are you donating part of the money ?"

Lkasquilici also piqued:

And how much of these whoppers go to LGBTQIAP+ community?

Burger King Austria replied and shared that they are:

"Official partners of Vienna Pride and support the LGBTQ+ community."

Here are some more reactions from Twitter:

The company did not share the item's price but said that it will be available in all of its locations. The American counterpart of the company has decided to keep it simple this year, with just a rainbow flag wrap.