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January 14, 2008 - You might have seen or heard of BK's new "whopper freakout" ad campaign — the latest creation by trendy agency CP&B — in which real BK customers have their reactions caught on hidden camera when informed that BK has discontinued their signature sandwich.
As we all know, however, if there's something to really freakout about at Burger King, it's the human rights crisis in Florida's tomato fields - a crisis BK contributes to and refuses to meaningfully address. So we've created our own response: whopperfreakout.org - and we need your help to make it happen!
We're calling on CIW allies to grab a video camera, visit a local Burger King, insist on ordering a sweatshop-free whopper, and then being creative with your responses - and catch it all on tape!
If you have any questions, or to submit your video, contact SFA at organize (at) sfalliance.org. Once submitted, we'll post your video to whopperfreakout.org and YouTube. Check out these facts and figures on farmworkers and the campaign background for some talking points.
Check out this submission from Lawrence Fair Food for some inspiration!
- Getting a camera
- Shooting your video
- Editing your video
- Freakout ideas
getting a camera
• Borrow one from a friend
• Contact groups in your area (churches, community organizations, etc.), especially if they already support the CIW. They may have a camera you can borrow.
• Check your school. Universities and even high schools usually have video equipment for their Media, Communication, and/or Journalism departments which you can oftentimes check out just by using your student ID.
• If you do want to invest in a camera for this/future projects, Sony Digi-8's are small, durable, good quality and relatively inexpensive (and recommended by austin indymedia).
shooting your video - you've got your camera and your 'crew'...
• Show up at your local BK during "down" time. This varies from place to place but is typically after 7 or 8 pm, but no less than half hour before closing, because you'll be in the way of closing duties. You can also try after the lunchtime rush, around 2 or 3pm.
• Ask permission (or not). In reality it can be awkward to stand there filming with no explanation. You might also want to let the employees in on it so they don't feel like they are being messed with/used. You don't have to tell them everything; we just claimed to be film students doing a short about marketing, and later added that we were doing a reversal on the popular Whopper Freakout commercials.
Just feel the vibe and go with it. Hey, it could even be an opportunity to quickly explain the basics of the CIW's campaign. Most importantly, try not to do anything to get an employee in trouble or fired. (Consider blurring their faces or just not getting much identifying info on camera - keep the focus on you and your freakout.)
• If the restaurant is too busy or you're feeling shy, consider the drive-thru.
editing your video - the fun part...
• Again, many universities and some high schools have video editing labs or suites. Go to your school's website and search for "video editing."
• If that's not an option:
- check your community library
- if you use Linux, try getting a hold of Kino
- some cameras come with editing software
- contact community centers, infoshops, independent radio stations, or your local indymedia - even if they don't have the equipment, they may know someone who does.
 freakout ideas
• Order a sandwich; ask if they know who picked the tomatoes, because you heard there are workers in Florida picking tomatoes in sweatshop conditions and that most fast food companies use those tomatoes. You don't want the sandwich unless the tomatoes are guaranteed sweatshop-free.
• Order your sandwich, and return it 'cause the tomatoes taste like sweat.
• Order a whopper with sweat-free tomatoes. See what they say and roll with it.
• Go through the drive-thru & have someone film you ordering a sandwich with sweat-free tomatoes. Then go back through the drive-thru returning the sandwich because you're not sure they're sweat-free.
• Go around the restaurant asking other diners if their tomatoes "taste like sweat."
special thanks to Aramie for these tips
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