Burger King Gives Bronx Residents Free Whoppers for Tolerating the 'Joker Stairs'

Ever since Joaquin Phoenix's Joker debuted last October, a certain staircase in the Bronx has become a mandatory stop for fans, especially those in costume. Inspired by a memorable scene of the anti-hero dancing down a flight of stairs—situated in real life at Shakespeare and Jerome Avenues—to the tune of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2," fans have converged on the staircase daily for months. As you might imagine, that's not always a delight for the Bronx residents just trying to go about their days. Now Burger King is showing some support for the locals by offering a free Whopper via delivery service Uber Eats to anyone who lives in the Bronx. A video promo and print ad for the promotion make it clear that this is less about picking on Joker fans than it is about continuing the brand's long-running crusade against clowns (a proxy, of course, for rival McDonald's Ronald McDonald). [kickout id="1"] The promotion was created by longtime Burger King agency partner David, though this time marks the first Burger King work from the agency's relatively new Madrid office. The launch was timed for today as Joker makes its retail debut on disc. "King Stairs" continues Burger King's years-long spree of marketing poking fun at McDonald's by way of linking the megabrand to any thing annoying or creepy about clowns. The trend really got rolling in 2017, when agency LOLA MullenLowe created Scary Clown Night, a promotion offering free Whopppers to anyone on Halloween who came into a Burger King dressed as a clown. That promotion was dreamed up by creative leader Pancho Cassis, who is now global CCO of David, the agency behind the new Joker-centric campaign. LOLA MullenLowe also created a relatable print campaign in 2019 about how children can be traumatized by clowns at parties. "Birthdays should be happy," the copy noted. "Ask our manager about booking a clown-free party." CREDITS: Agency: David Madrid Global CCO & Partner: Pancho Cassis Global COO: Sylvia Panico: Executive Creative Directors: Saulo Rocha, André Toledo Creative Directors: Fred Bosch, Álvaro Palma Copywriter: Guilherme Pinheiro Art Director: Rafael Ochoa Director, Strategic Planning: Jon Carlaw Senior Planner: Stephanie Salvador Junior Planner: Vanessa Amaral: Executive Producer: Carlos Torres Producer: Ricardo Ceballos Production Coordinator: Tomas Diego Group Account Director: Stefane Rosa Management Supervisor: Jenny Gobel Account Executive: Rachel Startz Client: Burger King Global CMO: Fernando Machado President, Burger King North America: Chris Finazzo Head of Marketing, North America: Renato Rossi Lead Marketing Communications: Diego Suarez Marcelo Pascoa: Head of Global Marketing Nicole Alevizos : Director, Marketing Communications Rogelio Magaña: Senior Brand Manager, Global Marketing Rachel Williams: Manager, Advertising Production: STEPT Studios Executive Producer Nick Martini Stept Sales EP Susanne Kelly Head of Production Laura R. Cushing Producer Jenna Cedicci Director Issac Sokol Cinematographer Taylor McIntosh Photographer: Jacob Tran Editorial: David Studios (Editorial + Finishing) Editor: Pablo Colella Colorist: Nicolas Cragnolino Post Producer: Alex Brizuela Audio: HOBO Audio Mixer: Diego Jimenez PR: ABMC

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Burger King Gives Bronx Residents Free Whoppers for Tolerating the 'Joker Stairs'

The chain continues its anti-clown digs at McDonald's

David Griner

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