Burger King was hit on social media after it posted an ad featuring people attempting to eat burgers using chopsticks. Those who saw the ad called it "racist" as customers clumsily eat their chicken burgers while they are obviously not familiar with using the eating tool that most people in Asia use.
Burger King only wants to promote a burger flavor inspired by Asian cuisine and it believed that using chopsticks in the ad is the best way to go but based on the reactions, it was not a great idea. And besides, it is a burger so using the chopsticks is not even suitable and this is one of the reasons why people commented that the ad is racist.
Likewise, Fox News reported that Burger King is being called out for the ad that it posted on Burger King New Zealand's Instagram. It features its newest product - the chicken sandwich called the Vietnamese Sweet Chili Tendercrisp and the post was captioned: "Take your taste buds all the way to Ho Chi Minh City with our Vietnamese Sweet Chili Tendercrisp, part of our Tastes of the World range."
Twitter user, Maria Mo Carey, uploaded the Burger King video and wrote: "So this is the new Burger King ad for a "Vietnamese" burger. Chopsticks r hilarious right omg."
Later on, Maria tweeted again and apparently, she was one of those offended by the Burger King ad. "I'm so sick of racism. Of the kind that makes fun of different cultures, to the kind that shoots and murders those peacefully praying in their place of worship. Say no to every single manifestation of it," she wrote.
In a message sent to Huff Post, Maria also explained why she finds the ad racist. "Because I couldn't believe such blatantly ignorant ads are still happening in 2019, it honestly took me a second to work out what the heck I was looking at," she said. "I was watching it thinking there must be some kind of layered twist - only to realize, no, there was no twist, it really was that base level."
Journalist Catherine Shu also reacted by asking who came up with the idea for the ad. She added that there are many Asians in New Zealand but they "probably aren't getting their Vietnamese food from Burger King."
Meanwhile, in a new update, Burger King responded to the criticisms by apologizing to offended parties and pulling out the "racist" video.
