The "King" of Surprises

My younger brother was ambushed by a clever PR tactic this morning. He's a little shaken up but in a good way.

What Happened
After leaving his morning class at a Chicago university, he saw a man drop a wallet. While he chased after that man, another woman dropped her wallet.

Both people told him to keep the wallet. And considering that he's a young black male at a predominantly white school, the level of skepticism was really high. But to his pleasant surprise, the wallets were gifts from a man we all know and love...

Yes, it was from

THE BURGER KING.

Today, the Miami-based fast food chain was the talk of blogs because of this clever PR tactic. But PR tactics can go terribly awry. Just ask the folks at Cartoon Network, who had the city of Boston temporarily shut down back in 2007 after a PR stunt gone wrong.

Why did the Burger King PR tactic work?
• It was unexpected
People drop wallets everyday, but rarely is this is ever a deliberate action.
• The timing was just right
In today's tough economy, all hand outs are welcome.
• It grabbed the audience's attention faster than any other tactic
No explanation needed for that.

Now if Donald Trump or Oprah would do a little wallet drop for the Holiday season, that will be a news item for the ages. :)

More coverage of the Burger King story at Beneath the Brand