Burger King under fire for 'racist' Vietnamese chopsticks ad
Burger King is facing criticism online after its New Zealand branch posted an ad in which chopsticks are used as comedy vehicle to promote its Vietnamese Sweet Chilli Tendercrisp burger.
The brand has faced criticism online / Burger King
The campaign, which was running on Instagram, shows several people struggling to eat the burger with giant chopsticks, some holding them in separate hands.
It has sparked outrage among Asian communities on Twitter, who have accused Burger King of "cultural insensitivity" and "racism" for diminishing the tradition of eating with the utensils.
The spot (which can be viewed below) drew ire on Twitter after being shared by Korean New Zealander, Maria Mo.
So this is the new Burger King ad for a “Vietnamese” burger ok coolcoolcoolcoolcool CHOPSTICKS R HILARIOUS right omg etc pic.twitter.com/zVD8CN04Wc
— 마리아. Maria. (@mariahmocarey) April 4, 2019
Several others agreed with her, saying the ad made chopsticks look "clumsy", "primative" and "stupid".
Someone make a video of a bunch of Asians using forks to eat sushi or pho with. Make their fork invention look clumsy, primitive and stupid just like how this ad was trying to imply with chopsticks.
— Professor (@supersoakdathoo) April 5, 2019
LOL chopsticks amirite??????
Who the hell came up with this? There are a lot of Asian people in NZ, though they probably aren’t getting their Vietnamese food from Burger King https://t.co/XSGYX7IVBR
— Catherine Shu (@CatherineShu) April 5, 2019
The Drum has reached out to Burger King for its response to criticism, at the time of writing it had yet to respond.
At the end of last year, Dolce and Gabbana found itself facing similar criticism after its 'DG Loves China' campaign was accused of trivialising the country’s centuries-old culture and depicting Chinese women in a racist way.
The Italian fashion brand posted the ad on social network Weibo back in November to promote its Shanghai runway show. The video depicted an Asian model in a red sequin D&G dress having trouble eating Italian food like pizza while using chopsticks, while a male narrator asked 'is it too huge for you?'.
The brand's perception among consumers in China has fallen to an all-time low since the incident, which led e-commerce and retail giants to remove its products from listings and the cancellation of its fashion show.