On International Women’s Day 2021, the following Tweet was shared on Burger King’s official UK Twitter account: “Women belong in the kitchen.” Insensitive, inappropriate and sexist–talk about a bad PR example!
Because of this Tweet, Burger King has come under heavy scrutiny for posting a sexist statement on International Women’s Day. While the company has since apologized, doing a quick Google search of “Burger King Twitter” provides pages of results reporting on the backlash that Burger King has seen as a result of this tweet.
Viewing the Tweets following Burger King’s initial “Women belong in the kitchen.” Tweet, Burger King shared that they are launching a scholarship initiative that will provide scholarships to female Burger King employees who hope to work in the culinary industry. The ensuing Tweets explained: “If they want to, of course. Yet only 20% of chefs are women. We’re on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry by empowering female employees with the opportunity to pursue a culinary career. #IWD” and “We are proud to be launching a new scholarship programme that will help female Burger King employees pursue their culinary dreams!” Yet, focus has remained on their initial Tweet. While the Tweets that followed explained their scholarship initiative, their initial attempt to counter sexism with a sexist comment highlights the importance of thoughtfully crafting messages in public relations. In public relations, we have to carefully consider the content and organization of our message as well as our audiences and their reception to our messaging. In the case of Burger King’s Twitter, they did not analyze their Tweet as thoroughly as they should have–resulting in high amounts of backlash.
Here’s where public relations comes into play. While some people say that “all publicity is good publicity,” we’d have to disagree. Although attention has been drawn to Burger King’s Twitter, the Tweet has proven a bad PR example as well as a disaster for the company. Nearly all of the publicity generated has been unfavorable and has created negative associations with the brand. The goal of effective public relations is to produce communications that create and maintain positive attitudes, perceptions and associations with a company’s target audiences.
The moral of the story? When engaging in public relations communications, we must carefully and thoughtfully craft our messages by considering the connotative nature of words as well as the ethicality of our messaging. By considering these factors, we can produce effective messaging that creates positive associations and connects with target audiences. In the case of Burger King, the company was attempting to connect with women. Seeking to do so by means of a seemingly offensive Tweet was not the route to go, especially on International Women’s Day. Had the company created more effective communications, perhaps focus would instead be on the scholarship program Burger King has created for women in the culinary industry. When crafting a public relations message, the intended audience to which the message is being sent must constantly be considered. Follow along with our blog and make sure to check out our next post which will detail how to perform audience analysis and tailor messages for various publics.