Burger King Singapore suspends Alex Ong incident re-enactment video

The fast-food chain on 20 October posted on its Facebook page a video that re-enacted the real-life Alex Ong incident. But the re-enactment video, which the brand promoted on the page on 21, 23, and 25 October, has now backfired on the brand. While receiving more than 100 Likes on the five Facebook posts, it also received more negative comments than the positive ones.

The actual Ong incident happened in June, when the 25-year-old shouted at a 76-year-old woman for pressing the bell for a bus to stop at the last minute. He later raised his hand and threatened to slap her before pushing her out of the bus door. The whole incident was recorded by a bus passenger, and the video later went viral and created an outcry in the country.

At the end of the re-enactment video by Burger King, audiences were asked to choose from three options: ‘Ignite the Fire’ (igniting his fire on the dance floor by dancing away), ‘Channel the fire’ (channeling his fire into a new hobby, balloon sculpting) and doing a countdown.

In the past, Burger King Singapore has capitalised on viral videos with some success. One prominent example is the video 'Chicken vs Crotch Hitting Girlfriend', which spoofed this actual viral video.

Simon Bell, director of strategy at Landor Singapore, noted that brands have been trying to tap into social media trends for a number of years now, but choosing the right subject to broadcast is vital.

“Obviously the Alex Ong incident was an unsavory one but Burger King has tried to push the boundaries with this latest campaign and have got it all wrong,” he added. “Their fast response in removing the advert does signal that the outcry from social media was listened to and Burger King recognised their mistake immediately.”

He went on to say that a fast response, however, does not mean wholesale protection from any negative press, and that Burger King will need to learn from the PR mistakes and make sure that it is not vulnerable to another disaster.

“They have moved quickly to apologise and will try to focus on their original brand values to drive home to consumers the good qualities which they are known for,” he added. “Don't be surprised to see more incentives and cut price offers in the very short future to try and gain back customer trust.”

In one of the comments regarding the video, Facebook user MC Trave said, “And to capitalise on this, and reopen a wound that is being healed, have you people spared a thought for the person in the centre of that incident, who wishes to close the case and move on? Bad move, Burger King, imagine if it's your employee in the picture who pushed down the lady, I wonder if you will have the cheek to do such an ad.”

Meanwhile, several users indicated that they “dislike” and “hate” the video, and that it is of “poor taste”. Facebook user Tim Turuncu noted that the ad mentally tortures the victims, especially the elderly, and is not really related to Burger King.

Burger King later wrote on its Facebook page that the re-enactment video is part of a bigger campaign idea of ‘Control your fire’, which is in response to the increasing number of public outbursts in Singapore.

“Burger King Singapore believes that fire, when controlled, can lead to a better outcome (and of course, better flame-grilled burgers). The intention is purely focused on the positive redirection of the act itself and not at the expense of any particular individual. The King hopes that everyone can write in to suggest more ways on how to positively redirect fire.”

Publicis is the agency of record for Burger King since 2010, and it has been centered the advertising campaigns for Burger King on topical issues with social implications, as it is the best way to interact with the fans.

“We are not pushing anything out, we are listening to what people are talking about and contributing a point of view to that conversation,” said Sam Cassels, CEO Singapore at Publicis.

“The video is one of many instances that we intend to use as part of the bigger campaign idea of ‘Control your fire’. Viewers are encouraged to send in suggestions at the end of the video on how they would control their fire, and these suggestions would create further conversation. The intention of the campaign is purely focused on the positive redirection of anger in general.”

Cassel went on to say that the brand decided to suspend the video based on some initial commentary.

“While we remain committed to our point of view, we are also sensitive to the fact that in spite of our best intentions, there was potential for misunderstanding,” he added. “Hence our collective decision to remove this particular execution of the ‘Control your fire’ campaign so that we can stay focused on the original intent of the campaign.”