Facebook recently quashed the dreams of another inventive marketing campaign when it decided to make subtle changes to the new WHOPPER SACRAFICE page. See the story here. The muscle behind Burger King's recent surge of brilliant marketing campaigns was at it again. The application allowed users to receive a coupon for a free Whopper hamburger by unfriending 10 people on their Facebook accounts. The best part is that the app sends a message to the recently dumped friend explaining that 1/10th of a hamburger is more important then them, crushing their self-confidence into a flame-broiled heap. The application was a great service to me, personally. I was able to kill two birds with one stone, knock out a few unwanted people, and get a delicious treat. Kind of like Happy Gilmore winning the gold jacket, beating Shooter McGavin, and getting his Granny's house back.
So what happened? Facebook, in all their infinite wisdom, decided to disable the defriending portion of the application. That's like Mr. Miyagi telling Daniel-son not to use the "crane kick" against Johnny Lawerance in Karate Kid. Burger King, humbled by the decision, discontinued the application all-together, immediately after.
Where does Facebook get off? This a website that let's teenage girls post scantily clad pictures of themselves for all to see (especially me, keep up the good work Facebook), but won't let America's capitalistic spirit tho thrive? Any I challenge you to find anything more American then stabbing a friend in the back for free fast food. It makes me wonder if Facebook is allergic to exposure. They could have really embraced Whopper Sacrifice, aligned themselves strategically with Burger King, then made a quick buck.
Facebook has yet to comment on the reason for their actions. Something tells me it may have to do with the "feelings" of their members. Boo-frakking-hoo is what I say. Facebook could have decided to make the defriending part of the application temporary...like a week or something. Hell, I'd defriend family members if that was the case. A free burger and a week without having to see my sister posting on my wall? Now that's a win-win situation.
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Did you see this development in a specific article? I had heard about the Burger King promotion but hadn't heard that Facebook was giving them a hard time. It's interesting to see how these social networking sites are dealing with issues of privacy, advertising, copyright, etc. I still have friends who are mourning the death of scrabulous.
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