Too many corporations shy away from taking sides on major social issues. It was said that Johnny Carson would never let his political opinions be known as to never "risk alienating half of my audience." It seems that same rationale has been adopted by the majority of companies. I may be even alienating my audience by writing about this topic. And, to be honest, it's probably the safe bet to leave it alone.

Then there are the smart ones. The ones that take a calculated risk on a hot button topic of the day, take a side and shoot for the moon. Burger King has addressed the topic of equal rights for the LGBT community in a brilliant way. We'll address what's right about this campaign.

Where's The Beef?

So what's right about this campaign? What makes a simple hamburger and its wrapper impactful? Why would Burger King risk its audience and its sales to take a stand and do the right thing? The Devil's Advocate has identified 3 characteristics that make this campaign stand out: it is slightly controversial, it's not necessarily about the product, and it evokes emotion.

Controversy

There's no way around it - gay rights is controversial. Ever since President Obama came out in his support of gay marriage, the dominoes have started to fall. Some blame it on religion, others blame it on "disease," while I just blame it on the goose (kidding!). There's no denying the LGBT movement is the Civil RIghts movement of the time. And, as with any movement in history, people are generally resistant to change. Change takes time.

Enter the controversy. Major movement tugging people in different directions based on their values? Controversy. Any quote by any figure of any importance relating to it skyrockets to the front page of the newspaper top of Buzzfeed. So, when a major fast food chain makes an entire campaign wrapped (get it!?) around re-branding (Proud Whopper name) and re-packaging (rainbow colored burger wrap) their flagship burger, it goes viral.

Making A Statement

In retrospect, this might have been the most difficult thing to decipher about this campaign. The more I watched it, the more I realized that this isn't about the whopper. As you come to find out as the moral of the story, the whopper is exactly the same. When's the last time you saw something advertised to you with the tagline, "We Didn't Change S---!"? Oh, right. Well, besides that, that's the point of the whole thing. The whopper is exactly the same.

This is where I stopped and said, "wow, that is actually genius." In the video, you see people trying to figure out what has changed about the whopper. To be fair, that makes sense. New product? What's new about this? They then take a look at the wrapper and see the rainbow colored message, "We Are All The Same Inside." Beautiful. What a way to make a statement. What a beautiful metaphor.

More than the whopper though, the company and its brand have taken a stand on a serious issue. And, in the view of the majority in this country, they have taken the right stand. A stand for equal rights in a time when the country is demanding it. So, while the Proud Whopper and its rainbow colored wrapping are only available for a limited time, the lasting impression of how Burger King tackled this issue will remain in the consumers minds long after, for better or for worse.

Emotion

The final ingredient. The ingredient every advertiser looks for and every consumer wants you to touch. A memory of my childhood. The one that got away. The good times from way back when. It's no secret that if you pull on their heart strings, they'll be sucked right in.