Annals of advertising genius
After receiving complaints from Hindu groups, Burger King has withdrawn a small-scale print-advertising campaign it was using in Spain to draw attention to its "Texican Whopper."
The ad showed an image of Lakshmi, the multi-armed Hindu goddess of wealth, seemingly sitting astride one of the burgers, under the tag line "'La merienda es sagrada" ("the snack is sacred").
To be sure, beef is sacred to Hindus -- in the sense that they are forbidden to eat it. (Aside from the trademark "all-beef patty," the Texican Whopper includes chile con carne.)
After fielding complaints that it was blasphemous to suggest that Lakshmi would endorse beef-based fast food, Burger King canceled the campaign and apologized. (Now who should they apologize to for the name "Texican Whopper"?)
In other branding-disaster news, the Guardian reports that Russian and Nigerian officials may come to regret the name that they've chosen for a new joint gas company. I'm not sure I can print it here, which is not a good sign.
