In the world of advertising, the best campaigns are often the ones that turn unexpected moments into golden opportunities. That’s exactly what happened in May 2020, when a bizarre glitch in auto-piloted cars made them mistake Burger King signs for STOP signs, causing them to halt near BK restaurants for no clear reason. While most brands might have shrugged it off, we saw an opening. If AI had developed a taste for Whoppers, who were we to argue?
Instead of seeing this as a bug, we flipped the script and made it a feature. Enter #AutopilotWhopper, a campaign that turned self-driving confusion into a Whopper-craving AI moment. We used real footage from drivers who experienced the glitch and launched a promo: if your “intelligent” car stopped at a Burger King, you got a free Whopper!
The result? A viral sensation. The campaign was covered by top-tier global media, including Forbes, Business Insider, CNET, Autonews.com, Jalopnik, and more. It didn’t just generate buzz; it sparked an entirely new debate—are smart cars really ready for the road, or just hungry for fast food?
Beyond the headlines, the campaign was also critically acclaimed, securing Gold in Promo and Activation and Silver in Innovative Marketing (Technology and Media Usage) at Baltic Best 2020. This recognition further cemented Autopilot Whopper as an ingenious example of reactive marketing at its best. The campaign was developed and executed by Publicis Worldwide Latvia in collaboration with MullenLowe U.S.
In the end, if AI has a mind of its own, at least we know it has good taste. One thing is clear: Burger King is a brand that knows how to turn the unexpected into the unforgettable.
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