Finally celebrate clown free with Burger King

The next round in the never-ending battle between fast-food rivals Burger King and McDonald's. In advertising, the duel often looks like this: Burger King kicks McDonald's in the shins and wants to win customers from the market leader through creative communication. One popular target is McDonald's mascot, Ronald McDonald the clown. Two years ago, for example, Burger King posted clown warnings before movie screenings of Stephen King's clown horror remake "It" in Germany. In the same year, the Madrid-based agency Lola Mullen Lowe caused amusement by offering free whoppers to customers dressed as clowns around the world on Halloween.

The actions hit a sore McDonald's point: Many people don't think clowns are nearly as great as the inventor of Ronald McDonald, the advertiser Barry Klein, probably imagined in the 1960s. On the contrary, coulrophobia is the fear of clowns from which children and even occasional adults suffer. The heavy makeup hides the facial features that are familiar to us - this causes everyone to feel uneasy.

Now Lola Mullen Lowe is stepping up to the plate and taking aim at the famous children's birthday parties at McDonald's. Celebrating with a clown, she claims, is absolutely not the highest of all feelings for many children. The claim is backed up with photos of children who are visibly uncomfortable with clown company. The subjects are played out and switched globally.

Of course, another question arises: Are the photos real or staged? "They are real photos... poor kids!" says Sarah Okrent, Head of Communications at the Lola agency in response to a concerned inquiry from Werbewoche.ch. Fortunately, in the future, people will only party at Burger King. Or better yet: at home, in the garden, in the forest, in the park, on the playground, or in another educationally valuable place.