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What? No hands-free Whopper? Burger King reveals the jest

Alas! Burger King says it's not really making hands-free Whopper holders. It was just an ad campaign.
Alas! Burger King says it's not really making hands-free Whopper holders. It was just an ad campaign.handsfreewhopper.com

It looked like fast food was just about to get a little faster, but Burger King says it is not making hands-free Whopper holders.

All you multi-taskers will need to look elsewhere to shave a few more minutes out of your action-packed days. The online video featuring the hands-free Whopper holder in use by a dog-walker, policeman, dancer, landscaper and others is a whopper in its own right.

“The video featuring a ‘hands-free’ Whopper Sandwich holder was produced by an agency in Puerto Rico to celebrate the brand and the iconic Whopper Sandwich in a humorous way. However, the product depicted in the spot was not produced, or distributed to guests as some reports indicate,” reads the short statement from Burger King to CNBC.

What is true, the company said Monday, is that the first Burger King in Puerto Rico opened in 1963. So this is indeed the chain’s 50th anniversary in Puerto Rico.

The videos, produced in both Spanish and English versions, feature a guitar player singing the benefits of the device, which looks like a thick plastic necklace that bends up to feeding position. The item gets ritually unboxed with the fervor of the hottest new tech gadget.

“As part of Burger King’s 50th anniversary in Puerto Rico we wanted to hand out a special gift to the Whopper’s most loyal fans; members of BK’s loyalty program with the highest 50 scores,” the video promises. “Using the loyalty program’s CRM database, the lucky winners were notified via e-mail or phone. They received the very handy: Hands free Whopper.”

The website built for the campaign http://handsfreewhopper.com/ also features a video of the alleged production of the device on a 3D printer. Burger King officials declined further comment on the campaign including whether the prototype was indeed made on a 3D printer or if the schematics would be released to the public.

The ads were created by DLC/Ogilvy & Mather, according to Creativity Online, but neither Burger King nor Ogilvy would comment on the matter to CNBC.