Burger King Germany hijacked the ending of a screening of IT, offering a warning against trusting clowns. A week or so ago, it was reported that the Russian branch of fast food giant Burger King had filed a complaint with the government, in hopes of getting the film IT banned from the country. The restaurant alleged that Pennywise the Clown bore a resemblance to McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald, making the Stephen King adaptation essentially one long ad for McDonald’s.

While that crusade doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere - at least not so far - it looks like Burger King’s connection to IT isn’t quite finished yet. This time, Burger King’s German branch has seen fit to attach itself to the film, albeit in a much more lighthearted way than the Russians did. Seeing an opportunity to use Pennywise for its own benefit, Burger King Germany decided to stage an amusing publicity stunt during a local IT screening.

Burger King Germany’s surprise ad was simple, yet effective. The company waited until right before the ending credits for IT began to roll, then used two spotlights to convey a straightforward message to the moviegoers in attendance. The first spotlight said “The Moral Is: Never Trust a Clown.” The second spotlight then added the Burger King logo to the screen, making it clear that this was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek shot at McDonald’s. The full video of the stunt can be seen above.

It’s unknown at present if McDonald’s has any plans to respond with their own retaliatory stunt. It probably wouldn’t be hard to come up with something to say back, as the inherent creepiness of Burger King’s own unblinking mascot has often been pointed out online. Still, it’s probably more likely that McDonald’s will just ignore Burger King’s insult and continue with business as usual. It’s easy to do that when one is at the top of the fast food ladder.

As for IT, director Andy Muschietti’s film is very close to crossing the $600 million mark worldwide, and the $300 million mark domestically. IT has already taken the crown of top grossing horror film ever, at least when not adjusted for inflation. When inflation is taken into account, The Exorcist still reigns, with a near $1 billion adjusted gross. It’s unlikely that latter record will be broken anytime soon, unless of course IT: Chapter 2’s earnings blow the first film out of the water.

More: IT Director Comments on Angry Real-Life Clown Controversy

Source: Burger King Germany

  • IT Release Date: 2017-09-08