Dive Brief:

• Burger King is running a new multichannel campaign to celebrate "Christmas in July" that aims to bring goodwill and cheer to consumers during a difficult year, per a report in Muse by Clio. A new video ad has been released as part of the campaign that features interviews with customers — all wearing face masks — who express a desire to "fast-forward" past a difficult period so that they could be enjoying a happier time like Christmas.
• As a gift for consumers during tough times, the chain is promoting a two-for-$5 "unwrapping deal," that allows diners to choose among several different sandwiches enclosed in holiday-themed wrappers.
• The brand has also decorated a restaurant in Florida in Christmas lights that will stay up until July 28. The Christmas theme extends to creative on social media and on the Burger King app. The fast food chain teamed with creative agencies David São Paulo and David Miami for the effort.

Dive Insight:

With the ongoing global health crisis and high unemployment rates, many consumers are wondering when things will improve and a new normal will emerge. Burger King is tapping into this sentiment with its new campaign, including a video that shows consumers admitting that they are done with 2020 and a desire to be in a happier time like Christmas. The ad also tries to offer hope by reminding viewers that things change.

The campaign also sees Burger King supporting social media platforms like Facebook, where creative for the Christmas-themed campaign appears. This comes at a time when many big brands have pulled back on social media advertising — either as part of a widespread boycott or more quietly, which is what McDonald's is doing — in an attempt to pressure these platforms to do more to curb hate speech and the spread of misinformation.

The campaign is one of the the first efforts from the chain since it hired Ellie Doty as its first-ever North America CMO last month. Doty came to Burger King from Chili's, where she spent two years as VP of marketing and was then promoted to CMO. She is known for a data-driven approach and for strengthening the brand's value proposition by offering value-oriented menu items.

Another recent effort from Burger King saw the chain explaining the negative environmental impact of cow farts in an educational video promoting a new Whopper that is sourced from cows fed a diet designed to lower their methane emissions.

Burger King's sales took a hit when many of its locations closed due to the coronavirus and the chain is starting to see traffic recover as locations reopen. The Christmas in July campaign promotes hope and safety — with everyone in the ads wearing face masks — in an attempt to further drive sales at a time when COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise in many parts of the country and many consumers remain reluctant to return to pre-pandemic activities like going out to eat, which could help chains like Burger King that offer drive-thru and delivery.