Not Feeling Happy? Burger King Creates 'Real Meals' for More Complicated Emotions

The relationship between mental health and food is incredibly delicate and often times exacerbated by temptation, stress and fatigue. It can also function as a balm, providing a temporary moment of healing when we’re feeling particularly vulnerable. That could be why food, in many instances, is culturally used as a method of cheering up or healing. But the reality is that even the most satisfying meal isn’t going to cure someone who is fundamentally sad, angry or even lethargic. In a new campaign for Mental Health Awareness Month, which is in May, Burger King and Mental Health America want to make it clear that nobody is happy all the time, and that’s OK. For this month only, Burger King is offering the Real Meal. Select locations will offer guests who purchase the Whopper meal the option to grab a box that closely matches their current mood: Pissed Meal, Blue Meal, Salty Meal, YAAAS Meal and DGAF Meal. For reasons that should be obvious, “Happy” is not option. To announce the limited event, the burger giant partnered with agency MullenLowe U.S. for the short musical film called #FeelYourWay, which reimagines their classic '70s theme “Have It Your Way” as a realistic call to feel whatever feels most authentic at that time. [kickout id="1"] #FeelYourWay is designed to help destigmatize conversations around mental health. Anxiety disorders are the most common form of mental illness in the United states, affecting 40 million adults. 332 million people worldwide live with depression. While it’s understandable why some tell those dealing with anxiety or depression to simply “choose happiness”—poor mental health isn’t exactly comfortable—asking someone to perform happiness actually causes more harm than good. The most effective way to combat that is to give those struggling with mental health the space to feel “blue” (or sometimes salty, if applicable) and assure them that support is available. CREDITS: Client: Burger King Global Chief Marketing Officer, Burger King: Fernando Machado Head of Global Brand, Burger King: Marcelo Pascoa Head of Marketing, Burger King North America, Renato Rossi Advertising, Media and Communications, Burger King North America: Diego Suarez Media, Traditional, Digital and Social, Burger King North America: Jorge Oliveira Social Media and Digital Marketing, Burger King North America: Flavia Guetter Advertising and Merchandising, Burger King North America: Nicole Alevizos Advertising, Burger King North America: Liza Keller Media, Traditional and Digital, Burger King North America: Madeline McDermott Agency: MullenLowe US Chief Creative Officer: Mark Wenneker Executive Creative Director: Tim Vaccarino Executive Creative Director: Dave Weist Executive Creative Director: Scott Hayes SVP, Group Creative Director: Scott Stripling SVP, Creative Director: Enrique Camacho SVP, Creative Director, Digital and Social: Dustin Johnson Associate Creative Director: Jennifer MacFarlane Associate Creative Director: Cody Dummer Director of Integrated Design: Michael Molinaro Associate Creative Director: Allison Hughes Sr. Copywriter: Tara Nelson Art Director: Britney Drotleff Copywriter: Vanessa deBeaumont SVP Executive Director of Integrated Production: Lisa Setten SVP, Head of Integrated Production: Zeke Bowman VP, Executive Producer: Brian Smith Sr. Producer: Vera Everson VP, Director of Art Production: Tracy Maidment Director of Print Production: Aidan Finnan Content Producer: Abbey Daniel-Green Animator: Ryan Dight Animator: Andrew Lee Sr. Photographer: Erika LaPresto Digital Imaging Supervisor: Nick Bleil Sr. Digital Imaging Artist: Alex Abdalian Senior Production Artist: Nat Novak VP, Group Strategy Director: Mike Cassell Social Content Writer: Arielle Mulgrew Senior Business Affairs Manager: Amy Keddy Sr. Project Manager: Kelly Benson Project Manager: Tia Coulter VP Account Director: Kerry McKibbin Account Supervisor: Alison Whisenant Sr. Account Executive: Caroline Bailey Account Executive: Leila Chee Production Company: Missing Pieces Director: Jared Knecht Editorial: Friendshop Editor: Alex Pirrone Assistant Editors: Lauren Hayes & Josh Nowlan Motion Graphics: Rebecca Bolde Managing Director/Executive Producer: Melissa Mapes Producer: Laura Shackleford Color: MPC NY Colorist: James Tillett Color Producer: Jenna Gabriel VFX: MPC NY VFX supervisor: Rob Walker Compositor: David Anger Producer (VFX): Carlos Zalapa Original Music: Butter Music & Sound Managing Director: Ian Jeffreys Composer/ECD: Tim Kvasnosky ECD, Butter: Aaron Kotler CCO, Butter: Andrew Sherman Audio Post: Sound Lounge NY Sound Design/Mixer: Tom Jucarone Producer: Alicia Rodgers