The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2022
A Ronaldo lookalike who believes he's the real deal sold Burger King's plant-based Whopper
A mockumentary about Cristiano Ronaldo's doppelgänger proved Burger King's Plant-Based Whopper tastes 'as good as the original' and beat sales targets.
Burger King Kuwait
The solution
Kuwait was a market where meat was king and plant-based alternatives had repeatedly failed the taste test. A growing number of young flexitarians wanted options, but meat-loving consumers were cynical, and past launches had not stood up to their judgment. Burger King Kuwait was introducing a full Plant-Based Range of three products into this sceptical market.
Burger King's heritage promise was 'Taste is king', so the task was to address the biggest barrier first: the compromise of taste. M&C Saatchi's concept, 'As Good As The Original', leaned into the territory the brand already owned. The agency combined comedy, drama and football - the ingredients Kuwaiti audiences loved - into a mockumentary about Cristiano Ronaldo's doppelgänger.
The film introduced a naive but overconfident man who believes he is as good as his famous lookalike, and follows him pushing himself to an almost delusional point where his reality no longer matches his thoughts. Only at the end does the campaign reveal its point: some things just aren't as good as the original - but Burger King's new Plant-Based Whopper is. The character then stepped off screen into OOH executions, a TikTok challenge and social content that even trolled the real Ronaldo by mimicking his posts.
The market response was so strong that consumers believed the campaign had been made by Burger King international and adapted locally. The brand reported exceeding its product sales targets, and the film became the only film from the region to win a Caples award in the TV and advertising category. It later took both the Film and Film Craft Grands Prix at Dubai Lynx 2023.
Why it worked
- It dramatized the exact objection - 'not as good as the original' - instead of dodging it with claims and lab results.
- The doppelgänger made the comparison funny and human, so sceptical meat lovers watched the argument unfold as entertainment.
- Using football, comedy and drama, the campaign spoke the language of its market rather than importing a global template.
- The character was extendable beyond the film, powering OOH, TikTok and social engagement after the launch.
What can be applied
To launch a product consumers doubt, make the doubt the entertainment. Laughing at a delusional comparison lets the 'almost but not quite' claim land more honestly than any taste test.
Aftermath
The campaign beat Burger King Kuwait's product sales targets and drew feedback that consumers assumed it was produced by the global brand. It won the only Caples award from the region in the TV and video advertising category, then swept both the Film and Film Craft Grands Prix at Dubai Lynx 2023. For M&C Saatchi, the case became proof that a local-market launch could reach global production standards by turning consumer doubt into a story people wanted to watch.
Sources
- Burger King - How we turned meat eaters into plant-based lovers
- Burger King Kuwait Enlists Cristiano Ronaldo Lookalike for Plant Based Campaign
- All the 2023 Dubai Lynx winners
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.