Why Burger King Gave Away Free Big Macs And Asked 'Sellouts' To Unlike Its Facebook Page

For all the time brands spend begging social media users to like and share their latest topical jokes about the weather or the latest television show, marketers themselves are still figuring out how to measure the actual value of these interactions to their companies.

After all, just because I "liked" IHOP's Facebook post wishing me "A Merry Little Breakfast" doesn't mean I'm about to ditch out on Christmas morning to grab a Rooty Tooty Fresh 'N Fruity combo.

In a refreshing bit a of self-awareness, Burger King's Norway division made light of the frivolousness of some of these interactions with a campaign that actually encouraged people to "unlike" the brand's Facebook page.

After discovering that many of its 38,000 Facebook "fans" were posting derogatory messages about its brand or praising arch rival McDonald's, Burger King Norway chose to weed out these fly-by-night followers.

To do so, it asked Facebook users to choose one of two options: "like" the new Facebook page and declare yourself a "true fan" or accept a coupon for a free Big Mac and be banned from Burger King's Facebook page forever.

Here's what happened next, as told by DIST Creative, the Oslo ad agency that created the "Whopper Sellout" campaign:

Burger King Norway gave away all 1,000 of its Big Macs within a week and lost about 30,000 Facebook fans from the stunt.

However, DIST Creative reports that the new Facebook page wound up with 8,481 loyal followers, who engage with the brand five times as much as users did on the old page. And Burger King got additional free advertising every time someone accepted the Big Mac and declared themselves a "Whopper Sellout" on their Facebook page.

And yet, for all of the creativity of its Norwegian brethren, Burger King's U.S. page continues to go about engaging its disloyal "fans" the same way it always has.