Burger King kills it at CANNES with "The Rise of Hackvertising” session

Burger King kills it at CANNES with “The Rise of Hackvertising” session

Bryan Karas

June 21, 2018

Burger King studied computer hackers and came up with a session called “The Rise of Hackvertising” which generated tons of buzz at CANNES Lions 2018, the annual creativity festival.

But before we start…it’s not pronounced “cains,” and you don’t pronounce the “s” – it’s pronounced “CAN” like soda can.

You’re now probably wondering what “Hackvertising” means…it involves closely watching stories in the news and conversations trending on social media then finding relevant ways to insert your brand into those conversations — even if it involves breaking some rules.

The most famous Burger King “Hackvertising” campaign happened last year when they created a quick 15 second spot that triggered Google Home devices saying “Okay Google, what is the Whopper burger?” Then the home device started reading off the Wikipedia definitions – which happened to be strategically changed to add humor to new definitions.

It opened up a conversation about advertising and the future of “connected homes” – earning $135 million in media coverage.

It’s better to “ask for forgiveness”

What’s life without a little risk? One of the main points during the “The Rise of Hackvertising” session was on bending the rules. And I think we can take it a bit further to – break the rules…with caution.

When engaging in “hackvertising” you need to take calculated risks. Prepare for the backlash because it’ll come faster than a fat kid chasing an ice cream truck. Their campaigns have been shut down by airports, tv channels, social media platforms etc. If something seems risky, you need to go at it.

Burger King keeps their lawyers on speed dial – we probably can’t do that but it’s something to think about it…

What works for one brand might not work for you…

All this sounds fun, right? It sounds like it could work…but it’ll only work if your “hackvertising” is on brand.

If you’re a brand like Wendy’s – quirky and bold – and are positioned to call out competitors on Twitter during a social conversation then go for it. But if you’re a brand like Dove – who’s mission is to build self esteem and confidence in women – funny tweets bashing your competitors probably won’t work. But don’t think “hackvertising” isn’t for everyone – Dove could easily join the conversation around The Women’s March or the #MeToo movement.

Stay on brand and know that not everything you try is going to work but keep at it, be consistent and people will start to notice.

One last important note about Burger King and “hackvertising.” They go big. Once they find a story worthy of “hackvertising” they don’t just tweet something about it and call it a day – it’s not newsjacking. They change things in their restaurants – they send mascots to McDonald’s…they go big and they document it – shout out Gary V…

One guy boosted traffic by 2500% by “newsjacking” a simple story

You might not be ready to start “hackvertising” just yet but you are interested in getting some traction on social media during trending conversations. Take a look at how one guy “newsjacked” a simple story about Vine shutting down – increasing his traffic by 2500%.