If Only Anna's Taqueria Did This, Half of My Friends Would Be Dunzo.

I'd like to think that I actually got something out of Emerson College. More specifically, I would like to think that I got something out of my Marketing Communications - Concentration in Public Relations degree. Throughout my time at Emerson, I wrote a critical analysis on "The OC," did a final project discussing the stereotypes in the casts of "The Real World," and created an entire media relations plan on the launch of Disney Channel's DCOM, "Camp Rock." Four years later, I finally earned my well deserved degree, but there is absolutely nothing I learned that could possibly come up with a BRILLIANT marketing tactic such as this.

This is called "Whopper Sacrifice." It's an advertising campaign by Burger King, where you, the Facebook user, adds the Whopper Sacrifice application to your profile. Then you select ten friends whom you would like to delete from your friends list. Once you have deleted them, you receive a coupon for a FREE Whopper at any participating BK locations.


Now I myself find this to be just plain smart. Advertisers are using social networking sites more than ever to get their point across to their desired demographic. Here, BK is not only utilizing FB, but it poses a challenge to its customers to see what they are willing to give up just to get a free charbroiled hamburger.

The inner marketing major in me would really like to see the evaluation of this campaign and how well it fared, how many people did it, how many Whoppers were given away, how many licks it takes to get to the center of the tootsie roll pop, etc. But based on their site, it looks like a lot of people are willing to delete their "friends" off FB. Me? I didn't do it. Not really in to Whoppers. Plus if I deleted 10 friends, I would be down to 505 friends, and that's just unacceptable. I can't afford to lose any friends. Whether they're real or not.