11:24 AM
CAS: 302 Social Influence
In the same summer that Mayor Bloomberg denied New York City dwellers large sodas, Burger King gives us this creation. Why would they do such a thing amid the current health food craze? And more importantly, how do they persuade us to try ice cream with a side of breakfast?
The Atlantic Wire author Adam Martin says that this menu item is coming too late because he believes that the "bacon-for-dessert" trend ended three years ago. Additionally, he believes this product is insulting to Burger King customers. The insults come in the form of lazy marketing. Martin says that Burger King relies on how the combination of the words "ice cream" and "bacon" bring media attention; something that usually brings more consumers.
In reality, the sundae is rarely featured in any commercials or ads for Burger King. Lately, they have been using stars like David Beckhamn and Sofia Vergara to persuade the public to visit their restaurants. Of course, neither of these stars are purchasing their bacon sundae in the commercials. Beckham gets the freshly "freshly made" strawberry-banana smoothie, while Vergara makes a salad in a Spanish-speaking commercial. Senior Vice President of North American Marketing Alex Macedo explained, "We chose celebrities to get people's attention faster and to show the diversity we have in our brand." However, among these diverse stars is no sign of a diverse menu. Only the "healthy" items seem to be represented by these celebrities.
So, just how unhealthy is the bacon sundae? According to Rachel Arons in an article from The New Yorker, it's just as bad as you would expect. In addition to the bacon, the ice cream is also covered with chocolate and caramel. The whole dessert contains 510 calories, 18 grams of fat and a whopping 61 grams of sugar. In an effort to confirm these numbers on the Burger King website, we were surprised to see no mention of the sundae anywhere. A little more research showed that because the item is not available in every single location, the product has not been added to their nutritional value list. Burger King has turned this sundae into a dirty little secret.
Perhaps Burger King is banking on the idea of "self rewards." Maybe they are hoping people will go into the store to get the salad Sofia Vergara is making and, after proudly resisting the burgers and fries, they will reward themselves with a little treat. As mentioned earlier, the sundae does have a bit of shock value, a quality that could entice people to try it, just this once.
Aside from how Burger King influences us to eat it lies the ever important question, it it even good? Martin and Aron both agree that the dessert is...alright. Martin explains that the bacon is out of its element, it is not warm and crispy, but instead cold and soggy. Aron agrees that the bacon was out of place among the caramel and the chocolate.
Who knows how long the bacon sundae will last. Will Burger King convince you to try one before they're gone?
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| Actual Bacon Sundae Photo taken by a customer and posted on Tagroom.com |
~Mallory Buohl, Elliot Lopez, Quatima Spearman, Aaron Spece
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3 comments:
The bacon sundae just looks straight disgusting. I'm surprised I haven't heard of this yet, but there is probably a tactful reason why Burger King doesn't advertise it. But really, are customers choosing these salads? I'd like to do some research for statistics on the output of Burger King foods.
Thanks for your comment! Because many of the new ‘healthier’ items were introduced this year, it was difficult to find their sales. Naturally, the Whopper has been the best seller for years. According to the BK Nutritional Value list, found on their website, The Whopper contains anywhere from 670-1230 calories, depending on the version and ‘have it your way’ add-ons. The Garden Fresh salads range from 490-700 calories. However, certain dressings add up to 220 calories. So even if people are choosing the salads, they may end up eating as many if not more calories than a Whooper.
I love prosciutto wrapped in fruit (figs/melon), especially if accompanied by a micro-brewed beer (make that a hoppy-one) or fine sherry, and I am happy to proclaim my love for such things via my 'foodie' identity. In fact being a 'foodie' (chowhound/epicurean) means I get to appreciate lots of fatty and unhealthy dishes (butter in French cooking, for instance) yet with far less social judgment. In fact, my ‘foodie’ badge gives me oh so many social rewards. So when I read this post about bacon in sundaes at Burger King, I cannot help but question the underlying class-based bias in our expectations of food consumption?
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