Burger King Experiment Shows Customers Caring More for an Abused Burger Than For a Bullied Kid

In recognition of National Bullying Prevention Month, the fast food chain Burger King partnered up with NoBully.org to perform an unusual experiment. They staged a loud, demonstrative teenage bullying situation (with actors) inside one of their restaurants to see what customers what do. On the other side of the counter, Burger King employees “bullied” a Whopper Jr. before serving it to customers, also to see what they would do. They found that 95% of customers complained about the state of their food, while only 12% of these customers stood up for the kid being bullied in the corner. But when those 12% stood up, it was in a truly meaningful, empathetic way, relating it to their own experience from which they learned.

‘I’ve been that kid so if I see it I’m gonna do something about it and I hope there’s more people out there like that.’ …Scrawny. Short. Ugly. Fat. Weird. 30% of school kids worldwide are bullied each year and bullying is the #1 act of violence against young people in America today. …In the BURGER KING® brand Bullying Jr. experiment, more people stood up for a bullied WHOPPER JR.® than a bullied high school Jr.