Dumbest, Most Desperate, Most Tone-Deaf Corporate Sales Promotions Ever

In the spring of 2019, Burger King announced its so-called “Real Meals.” The backlash was instant. Critics took offense at a company trying to monetize mental-health awareness. But it was hardly the first time a corporation cynically tried to capitalize on “wokeness.” Here are some other ridiculously poorly thought-out corporate promotions from the past…

Burger King’s Unhappy Meals

Burger King’s new range of “Real Meals” (colloquially called Unhappy Meals) must have seemed like a good idea to someone.

The logic behind these five color-coded meals seems to be to appeal to a more contentious consumer base that are open about their emotions, but in the eyes of many online commenters, this just seems like a lazy attempt to appear “woke.”

Burger King’s Adult Meal

“Real Meals” don’t represent the first time Burger King parodied their biggest competitor’s classic kids’ meal. On Valentine’s Day in 2017, a single Burger King store in Tel Aviv, Israel, offered customers the Adults Meal, which came with a pair of Whoppers, fries, drinks and a “

romantic toy” designed for use in the bedroom. The campaign lasted only four hours, but it gained worldwide media attention because it was so ridiculous.

McDonald’s Go Active Happy Meals

Burger King isn’t the only restaurant chain to make an adult Happy Meal. McDonald’s has also swam in these waters, creating the Go Active Happy Meal in an attempt to fix its literally unhealthy public image.

Instead of a toy, customers received a step counter to help them increase their mobility, and instead of tasty food, they got salads. But nobody goes to McDonald’s for salad, and the campaign died quickly.

All White Skittles for Diversity

Skittles really missed the mark in promoting a special Pride-themed version of their classic candies. According to a spokesperson, the logic behind these all-white Skittles was to allow “Pride’s rainbow to take center stage.”

Commenters quickly pointed out that celebrating diversity with a bag of all-white Skittles is an incredibly backwards and stupid idea.