Burger King Will Give Free Whoppers to People Dressed as Clowns on Halloween

Burger King is turning Halloween into its own personal holiday—for tricking McDonald’s.

Last year’s “Scariest BK” stunt involved dressing up an entire Burger King location in Queens as the ghost of McDonald’s. This Halloween, BK is launching a broader stunt, also taking aim at McDonald’s, called #ScaryClownNight—in which it will welcome people dressed as clowns (as Ronald McDonald himself, or Pennywise from It, or any clown really) by giving them a free Whopper.

So apparently, while BK memorably warned us recently never to trust a clown, it does welcome everyone—even the costumed embodiment of its major nemesis.

BK is advertising the promotion with the spot below:

The offer will be valid next Tuesday, Oct. 31, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. at five locations only in the U.S.—in Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Austin and Salt Lake City. Here are the specific locations:

• 259 Cochituate Rd, Framingham, Mass.
• 1101 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, Fla.
• 545 N Victory Blvd, Burbank, Calif.
• 3001 Montopolis Drive, Austin, Texas
• 3975 W 4700 S, Salt Lake City

It’s also limited to the first 500 guests wearing a clown costume only. And it’s not valid at the drive-through, so leave your clown car at home.

“We don’t usually talk about clowns,” Alex Macedo, president of North America for Burger King, said in a statement. “But for this Halloween, come dressed as a clown to eat like a king.”

The campaign was created by LOLA MullenLowe in Madrid. The spot was directed by Rodrigo Cortés. Along with the five U.S. locations, the campaign will also run in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Russia, Sweden, South Africa, Japan, Brazil and Argentina.

Tim Nudd

@nudd

Tim Nudd is a former creative editor of Adweek.