Burger King’s latest dig at McDonald’s: Creepy clowns to haunt your dreams

Fun times.

This Halloween, select Burger King restaurants in Denmark and Sweden will resurrect the old horror trope while twisting the knife in the competition. For diners who dare, they will be able to walk into a bathroom at these secret locations and say “canceled clown” three times to the mirror. The lights will shut down, the room will turn dark, and patrons will quickly come face to face with a raggedy clown with eyes that glow red. To be honest, the apparition looks more like Carrot Top after a particularly harsh bender.

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Anyway, the stunt in Sweden and Denmark (the unofficial motto of Scandinavia: “Our tax rates scare Americans more than clowns”) is a not-so-sly reference to Ronald McDonald’s current employment status. If you’ll recall, the world’s largest fast-food chain told Ronnie to pack up his fright wig and go in 2016. He wasn’t officially retired, but he was relegated to parades and charity events, where he could enjoy an emeritus status without frightening the kids or invoking memories of the creepy clown scare of 2016.

In fact, this year, Burger King India ran a lonely hearts ad in which Ronald McDonald sits by himself on a park bench while a solo violin sighs in the background. Text flashes on-screen to undercut the melancholy: “It sucks to be lonely. Especially on Valentine’s Day.” To stave off loneliness, BK India suggested diners upload a selfie with Ronald to earn a free Whopper, which of course are beef-free.

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The Scandinavian stunt trades on the same theme as a 2017 Halloween BK promotion, dubbed #ScaryClownNight, in which diners dressed as clowns would get a free Whopper. “Come as a clown, eat like a king,” the ad promised. Both play up the inherent creepiness of clowns, those jesters with the painted faces, bulbous red noses and feet so large they could serve as paddle wheels.

Burger King clearly understands the irony of demonizing mascots when it has one of the creepiest in the biz. The chain seems to enjoy playing up the disquieting qualities of its king. Remember the ad in which the common man wakes up next to His Majesty of the Perpetually Laughing Face? Creep factor: off the charts. And who can forget the Burger King Kong ad? (More important: Who would like to forget it?)

I don’t know. In the current political climate, with the rise of autocrats and their threats to Western democracy, the Rascal King mascot doesn’t play like it once did (if it ever did). I mean, peddling Happy Meals to kids isn’t great. But when I watch a dude, decked out in robes, a crown and lots of jewelry, passing out calorie-laden morsels to the masses, I see much darker things than a clown in a mirror.