Burger King has a bold new plan to enforce social distancing, but some customers aren’t impressed. The fast food chain debuted a massive cardboard crown on Twitter on Tuesday — like the ones the restaurant has given away for years, except with six-foot diameter. Or, as Burger King‘s Twitter account put it: “distancing, but make it fashion.”
The crowns were not just a social media stunt — select Burger King locations in Germany are now offering the “social distance crowns” for free to paying customers. A company representative told reporters from Business Insider that the idea was supposed to be a “fun and playful” way to promote social distancing. Many people online agreed, replying that they hoped to get a crown of their own soon. Others criticized the over-sized promotion for one reason or another.
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distancing, but make it fashion pic.twitter.com/lVn1No5Jwq
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) May 22, 2020
“We wanted to reinforce the rules of high safety and hygiene standards that the BK restaurants are following,” the Burger King rep said. So far, the crowns have not been made available at any U.S. locations, and it is not clear if they will be. Some Americans are hoping they will come stateside so that they can get their hands on one, with some even hoping to hand them out as gag gifts to loved ones who are not taking the coronavirus pandemic seriously enough.
Others criticized the crowns, saying that the coronavirus pandemic has been politicized, and is either being taken too seriously or not seriously enough. Meanwhile, some argued that the crowns are a waste of paper, and of employees’ precious time and energy during this crisis. Finally, some sticklers even pointed out that the crowns would not really “work” unless both people were wearing them and were about the same height. Here is a look at how Twitter has responded to Burger King’s social distance crowns.
Great Work
someone deserves a raise!
— c lewis silberman (@silbecl) May 26, 2020
Where?
just take a quick walk to Germany
— Burger King (@BurgerKing) May 22, 2020
Serving Size
and a crown of fries to go with it!
— c lewis silberman (@silbecl) May 26, 2020
Also a great place to store extra Whoppers.
— Fanphone 5000 (@TheRealFanphone) May 22, 2020
Good Advertising
My family and I decided to have Burger King for dinner. This is your doing, isn’t it?
— ouchie (@BirbTM) May 22, 2020
Applications
I’ll be wearing one of these even when social distancing is no longer called for. https://t.co/tSyqHVsXJV
— Adam W Gaffney (@awgaffney) May 24, 2020
Inspiration
To my friends of the event organizers, please be inspired by the Burger King social distancing crown.😅 pic.twitter.com/ZRAGzXygui
— Eddie Choi (@choieddie) May 23, 2020
Any Price
How many Whoppers do I need to buy before you’ll ship one to Texas?
— Alex Luong (@alexnumber1m) May 22, 2020