The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2022
Burger King Spain sold a veggie burger with Christ's Last Supper words during Holy Week
Burger King Spain quoted the eucharistic 'take all of you and eat of it' to sell a veggie burger. Catholics called for a boycott; it was pulled same-day.
Burger King · 2022-04-17
What happened
During Holy Week 2022 — when many Catholics abstain from meat — Burger King Spain ran a campaign for its Big King Vegetable veggie burger using the phrase 'Take all of you and eat of it,' echoing the words Catholic priests repeat from Jesus at the Last Supper during the eucharistic prayer, followed by 'doesn't have meat... 100% vegetarian.' A companion ad read 'Flesh of my flesh,' with 'flesh' (the Spanish word doubling for 'meat') crossed out and replaced with 'vegetable.'
Catholic organizations and social media users condemned the campaign for repurposing sacred liturgical language — specifically words tied to the consecration of the Eucharist — to sell fast food during the most solemn week of the Christian calendar, with some calling for a boycott.
Burger King apologized on Easter Sunday via its official Twitter account: 'We apologize to all those who have felt offended by our campaign... Our intention has never been to offend anyone and the immediate withdrawal of the campaign has already been requested.'
Why it happened
- Borrowing liturgical language for a sales pitch treats sacred text as available copy — the wordplay worked precisely because it echoed the ritual closely, which is what made it land as sacrilege.
- Timing the campaign to Holy Week specifically, rather than running it any other week, guaranteed the religious reading would be front of mind for the exact audience most likely to object.
- The apology came within the same holiday weekend — fast by ad-crisis standards — suggesting the backlash's speed and volume, not a slow realization, drove the timeline.
The lesson
Burger King Spain sold a veggie burger with the words Catholics associate with the Eucharist, timed to Holy Week. Catholic groups called for a boycott, and the campaign was withdrawn the same day.
Aftermath
Burger King Spain pulled the campaign immediately; the episode became one of several recurring examples of the brand running religiously provocative local campaigns that draw fast international pushback.
Sources
- Burger King in Spain apologizes for offensive Holy Week ads — Catholic News Agency
- Burger King apologizes after Catholics call for boycott over Holy Week ad campaign — Fox News
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