Burger King recently began airing an ad in which a dark haired pitch man with a microphone yells at some young people about chicken nuggets. While being yelled at about chicken nuggets isn’t exactly appealing, the hamburger makers have a bigger issue: The spot looks quite a bit like an episode of Billy Eichner’s popular series, “Billy on the Street,” which aired first as a web series before getting picked up by Fuse TV.
Granted, there are a few differences. For one thing, no human can match the volume/energy of actual Billy Eichner, and the Burger King spot doesn’t include his patented panicked running from person to person, choosing instead to stay in one spot. But plenty of people noticed the similarities and began calling the company out on Twitter, including Eichner himself and Seth Rogen.
https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521461513794498561
https://twitter.com/Sethrogen/status/521547957616013312
Some comedians took a slightly different tack with their protests:
https://twitter.com/michaelianblack/status/521560418007793664
So far, Burger King hasn’t pulled the spot or commented, but they’ve now given competitor McDonalds a bit of ammo.
https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/521477644714774528
https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/521682664810897408
The accused’s most recent Tweet is below.
https://twitter.com/BurgerKing/status/521425135178637312
Stay tuned for any developments in this ongoing tale.
Follow Lisa Weidenfeld on Twitter at @LisaWeidenfeld.
