Burger King reveals first work after surprise appointment of BBH London as creative agency
Burger King UK has appointed BBH London as its first creative agency, without a pitch, following the UK’s franchise’s buyout at the end of 2017.
The UK franchise was acquired by private equity firm Bridgepoint at the end of 2017, and subsequently saw a new management team put in place in chief executive Alasdair Murdoch and marketing director Katie Evans.
Murdoch and Evans approached BBH London earlier this year to handle the account. Burger King’s global ad agency of record is fellow WPP agency David – a relatively new outfit spun out of Ogilvy & Mather.
BBH London has been tasked with repositioning the brand in the UK market with work covering the entire customer journey and brand experience.
“We are delighted to have BBH on board. Its inspiring portfolio of work and experience in our sector gives us real confidence that they understand our brand challenge and how we need to engage and resonate to build brand growth in the UK,” said Evans.
The first piece of work from the agency has already launched. Called ‘The Opportunity You Haven’t Been Waiting For’ it centres on a nationwide search that kicked off yesterday (7 September) to find the first person to try its new Crispy Chicken Burger in exchange for £20,000.
A tongue-in-cheek film featuring Murdoch talking people through the terms of the competition
"The chance to re-build an iconic brand, one that's famous for ground-breaking, disruptive work, is every agency's dream brief,” said Ian Heartfield, chief creative officer at BBH London. “We're pumped that Burger King have chosen BBH to help re-invent their entire customer journey, and bring the fight to the McOppositon."
The win follows on from KFC ending its 15-year relationship with BBH last year, jumping ship to Mother London.
Earlier this year, Burger King appointed newly-launched digital agency Coolr to handle its social media agency, also without a pitch.