It’s a burger ad. Please, considering the company is not engaged in ageisim ((Where”s the beef?) nor is it exploiting the chosen test subjects,

I understand you are personally connected to the Romaniain people featured in the ad, so your angst is understood.

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It seems that most everyone commenting has missed the point.

It’s a simple taste test. The Brits (BK is a UK co., the Celticly named McDonald’s is the American one) simply went to find some people w/o preconceived notions of how a burger ’should’ taste. There is no commentary on these cultures in the ads. It is simply: which do you (as someone who’s had neither) prefer, A or B? It’s analogous to a nuoc mam company going to Kansas (or to make a better metaphor, Kent) to see whether they or the competition make a ‘better’ fish sauce to the uneducated palate.

You’ll notice that BK wisely didn’t throw some ground beef on a backyard grill for a third option, as that would be A. preferable to either of those choices and B. more indicative of how Americans actually eat burgers a plurality of the time.

Frankly (most of) the above comments are more indicative of ‘liberal white man’s burden guilt’ than they are a reflection on the ad campaign and/or its effects. No wonder the damn neo-cons were able to steal our country for 8 horrible years.

***Fair disclosure – both the Whopper and the Big Mac are disgusting to me due to the unidentifiable putrid sauces on them. To be perfectly honest, I DO probably prefer the McD double cheeseburger slightly (but statistically irrelevantly) to the BK double cheeseburger; or to paraphrase Freud, sometimes a greasy road trip meal is just a greasy road trip meal.

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Well, see the video. I have actually lived with the Romanian peasants in the video (same village) and therefore it was really shocking to see what BK did.

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Seriously, I don't totally disagree with anything written here except for the somewhat extreme tone.

Perhaps I am not qualified to comment at all as I still haven't seen the ad. I'm in Saudi again and doubt I'll see it anytime soon.

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I can see where you are coming from, but the ad involves the worst of American culture (unhealthy, cancer causing fast food) being brought to some of the most traditional people in the world. It is an extreme situation. Of course American has much to offer the world generally, but in this case Burger King is way out of line.

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[Insert your own fast-food innuendos here]

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I recall a recent article here regarding the growing popularity of the English language as being inappropriate as if there existed some imperialistic, linguistic conspiricy. I travel quite extensively. Just last week in Spain a taxi driver asked me to speak to her in English so she could practice. Depending on the circumstance, people are open to the idea of Americans and welcome the interaction. Traveling is not so one sided as to be benefit solely the traveler.

I just spoke to my wife who was born in (and more recently emigrated to the Czech Republic from) Tashkent and asked her what she thought of the concept – she's never had a Whopper by the way. She thought it was a good idea.

Though I haven't seen the commercial, it is not difficult for me to appreciate the idea that Burger King may have brought a little foreign culture to Americans by airing this commercial.

Good idea.

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What's going on here is the same schtick as Borat: the real joke is on us, because most of TV Land doesn't know an average Romanian (or Hmong, etc.) from a bar of soap. However, it also involves steamrollering over a few of "unsophisticated" in the name of entertainment, and that's what's distasteful about this. It's just another case of putting someone in the televised zoo so we can throw peanuts through the bars. Demeaning.

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