The campaign lasted only a few hours on Twitch last July, but resurfaced recently when Burger King tweeted a video promoting its work on the campaign. The reason for the backlash? The agency behind the ad exploited Twitch’s donation feature, with the help of a bot, to get a ton of inexpensive advertising for Burger King’s $5 value meal.
The agency used a Twitch feature that allows viewers to type in a message that is read out loud by a computer when they donate money to a streamer. The agency donated $5 to popular streamers and captured their reactions, which were included in a promo video.
This resulted in backlash from Burger King fans and streamers alike, with some streamers banning Burger King from their channels.
“This activation was meant to be a fun-spirited experiment on the platform using a new functionality,” David Madrid said, according to the AdAge report. “While it was well-received by the players we engaged with, we value and respect the recent feedback from the Twitch community.”