What do you do if you’re an ad agency and see a funny sketch online? If you’re Burger King’s agency, you steal it, use it to sell something, and hope nobody finds out.
That can be the only explanation behind the above ad, which is a blatant ripoff of Billy Eichner and his sketch Billy on the Street. A show that has taken off largely due to a devoted internet fanbase, Billy is popular enough that an ad agency should know better than to blatantly steal from it. They didn’t, however, and are now paying the price.
Last night, Eichner sent out the following tweets to his more than 238,000 followers:
1.
What do you do if you’re an ad agency and see a funny sketch online? If you’re Burger King’s agency, you steal it, use it to sell something, and hope nobody finds out.
That can be the only explanation behind the above ad, which is a blatant ripoff of Billy Eichner and his sketch Billy on the Street. A show that has taken off largely due to a devoted internet fanbase, Billy is popular enough that an ad agency should know better than to blatantly steal from it. They didn’t, however, and are now paying the price.
Last night, Eichner sent out the following tweets to his more than 238,000 followers:
2.
Hey @BurgerKing-thanks for stealing my act for ur new commercial!! Except its not as funny & everyone knows u stole it. GET YOUR OWN IDEAS.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
3.
Oh and @BurgerKing once you're done stealing my comedy please stop making people morbidly obese!!! Thanks so much!!!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
4.
Please tweet @BurgerKing & tell them to stop stealing from #BillyOntheStreet. Then I'm going over there & I'm gonna FLAME BROIL HIS DICK.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
5.
As annoying as it is to have Burger King rip me off, your tweets are incredible. I have the BEST fans on the planet!!! See u at McDonalds!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
6.
And one more thing - I INVENTED HAMBURGERS!!!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
7.
So far 14 people have died in the Billy on the Street vs Burger King War of 2014! This must end soon!!!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
8.
RT @ISIS Burger King is our favorite place! We love eating there and so should you!
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
9.
The truth is the only burgers I've ever liked are BOB'S BURGERS. Thank you and good night.
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) October 13, 2014
10.
The Twitter reaction has been swift and brutal. Burger King’s account is being bombarded with insults from fans, especially as it relates to the gastrointestinal impact their food can make. Even a couple celebrities have rushed to Eichner’s aid:
11.
Yo @BurgerKing, stop stealing from the hilarious @billyeichner and stick to what you're good at: giving me diarrhea.
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) October 13, 2014
12.
Hey @burgerking, you were stupid if you think hiring some random actor to rip off @billyeichner was going to work. I WAS AVAILABLE!!!
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) October 13, 2014
13.
McDonald’s hasn’t missed their opportunity to respond, either. After all, it’s rare that they can come out looking like the good guys:
14.
@billyeichner Can’t wait to see you! Oh, and bring Elena!
— McDonald's (@McDonalds) October 13, 2014
15.
This is a Twitter war Burger King is not going to be able to win. Hopefully for their sake, they pull the ad and apologize ASAP. Otherwise, there’s no limit to the number of diarrhea jokes that will be told at their expense.
[via UPROXX]