Despite voting being mandatory in Brazil, the abstention rate in the 2022 elections, the most recently held in the country, reached a record high, with 31 million people not voting.
Burger King Brazil and DAVID São Paulo set out to encourage the public to have a voice in the important decision of managing the country.
That encouragement was free food. After the elections, that took place on Sunday, October 6, anyone who showed proof of voting* at the counter of BK restaurants on Monday, October 7, could choose between receiving a free order of fries or onion rings.
To promote this initiative and emphasise the importance of voting, a special film prepared by the brand was aired from October 2 to 7. This spot was widely broadcast on Brazil’s major open television networks during prime time over those days. The film was supported in OOH in many cities and in-store activations (around 700 stores nationwide).
As a result, on the exchange day, October 7, thousands of people showed up at the stores throughout the day to prove they had fulfilled their duty. Even better, the abstention rate dropped by almost 2% compared to the last elections.
“This is a fun and irreverent campaign that reinforces the social role of BK, which often goes unnoticed due to our humour-driven brand profile,” stated Igor Puga, marketing vice president at ZAMP, the master franchisee of Burger King and Popeyes in Brazil. “The goal was to engage consumers on one of today’s most important topics, voting, while also encouraging reflection and citizenship among all our customers.”
*In Brazil, elections are known for being highly modern and fully digital, using an electronic voting system is considered one of the most advanced in the world. Voters cast their ballots using electronic voting machines, which ensure quick and secure processing. After going to a designated polling station and casting votes, each voter receives a receipt as proof of. The entire voting process is completed on election day, and remarkably, the results are typically announced within just a few hours after the polls close, making Brazil’s election system one of the fastest.
Burger King has carried out other election-themed campaigns in Brazil.
There was Blank Whopper in 2018:
and Burger King Elections in 2022
In this case, the goal was to encourage young people to obtain their voter registration cards and fulfill their civic duty by voting. Reality shows are a craze in Brazil, and many people spend their time voting on TV shows. If voting is already a habit, why not do the right thing?
Credits
Agency: DAVID São Paulo
Client Team: Paulo Camargo, Igor Puga, Pedro Laguárdia, Saulo Faria, Jose Guilherme Machado, Ítalo Lôbo, Juliana Monteiro, Leandra Estevam, Julia Otoch
Client: Burger King Brazil
Partner & Global CCO: Pancho Cassis
Global COO: Sylvia Panico
ECDs: Fabrício Pretto, Rogério Chaves, Marie Julie Gerbauld
Associate Creative Director: Renato Simon
Art Director: Fernando Rihan, Nicole Gelbvaks
Copywriter: Luiz Brodo, Nathalie Palomares
Account Team: Tom Gil, Cacá Franklin, Malu Figueiredo, Carolina D’Assunção
Production Team: Fernanda Peixoto, Ana Marques, Letícia Brito
Editors: Silvio Figueira, Victor Folha
Planning: Carolina Silva, Rafael Prieto, Barbara Pires, Bruna Biancamano
Media: Márcia Mendonça, Karina Takara, Jefferson Souza, Brenda Cunha, Fabiana Rentes, Larissa Saad
Head of Digital & Transformation: Toni Ferreira
Social Media: Bárbara Bueno, Marcelo Reis, Ully Correa
Global PR Director: Sandra Azedo
Production Company: Mol
Director: Galileo Giglio
Photography Director: Felipe Hermini
Executive Production: Galileo Giglio, Joaquim Carriço
Sound Production: CarbonoSoundLab
