When Todd Phillips' "The Hangover" came out in 2009, it sort of changed the pop culture image of hangovers in general.
Instead of highlighting the headache, spinning world, and upset stomach that come with drinking too much, Phillips's movie focused on the hilarious things that happen that you don't remember because of excessive imbibing.
As a movie premise, that idea proved a winner and spawned two sequels. It's simply funny to watch a group of friends get excessively drunk and ruin, then fix, their lives in the span of two hours.
Related: McDonald's menu adds three giant 'Godzilla Burgers'
Nobody wants a film where Bradley Cooper sleeps in until noon while Zach Galifianakis kneels over a toilet and Ed Helms goes out for a greasy breakfast. Instead of bad things with real consequences happening after a drunken night in Las Vegas, hilarious things that can be easily fixed powered these films.
Burger King has decided to leverage the comedy version of a hangover for its latest promotion. Instead of the chain offering a new type of Whopper for this promotion, however, it's leveraging the classic sandwich in a new high-tech way.
Image source: Shutterstock
Here's what the Hangover Whopper is
The Whopper was created almost a decade before McDonald's (MCD) -) unveiled the Big Mac. It was invented before cable television, the internet, artificial intelligence, and facial recognition. That makes the company's latest use of the Whopper — a promotion that's happening only at the chain's locations in Brazil — all the more unexpected.
"Anyone who wants help to combat their hangover the next day will be able to receive exclusive discounts on famous sandwiches of brand: the Whopper Jr. Double, Whopper, and Whopper Double," the Restaurant Brands International (QSR) -) brand explained in a news release.
"Through the brand's app, the consumer will be directed to a website where it will be possible to use facial recognition technology to receive discounts based on their hungover face."
The unique promotion acknowledges that the holiday season sometimes involves people overdoing it when it comes to alcohol.
"The new Burger King campaign is perfect for those who end up going overboard at the company's end-of-year get-togethers, birthday parties, weddings, or even happy hours," Burger King Brazil added.
"The solution that can help combat a hangover is in the palm of your hand! Just access the BK app and click on the banner available on the home screen, or directly on the website."
Another year of the Whopper
Burger King has leaned on the Whopper in its efforts to win customers from McDonald's and Wendy's (WEN) -). That's something Restaurant Brands CEO Josh Kobza talked about during the company's third-quarter-earnings call.
"I think as you look into next year, of course, we'll have some new stuff coming. We'll have some exciting new products; we'll definitely have some new campaigns," he said.
"But I think you can probably expect that a lot of those will continue to be focused on our core equities. We think that Burger King has some really special things about it between the Whopper flame grilling and 'Have it your way.'"
Kobza partly credits the chain's iconic sandwich for its strong results.
"Growth this quarter was driven by solid calendar initiatives leaning into our core equities like the Whopper and 'You Rule,' and the induction and the introduction of our Royal Crispy Wraps," he added.
"The team's focus on operations has led to continued improvements in guest satisfaction and an increase in product satisfaction across a few key offerings, including the Whopper, nuggets and fries."
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