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Kyle Poole

Professor Massie

ENGL 1301

26 November 2019

Take a Stand and Please Do Not Bully Junior

Picture sitting around watching television and seeing and hearing kids of all ages, gender,

and color saying derogatory words like “scrawny, chubby, short, queer” (McCluskey). These

kids are sharing their personal experiences of being bullied and their fears about standing up

against it. Then the setting changes to the crowded dining area of a Burger King restaurant.

There are tables of real customers eating their food while one table of youths, who are actors,

bully and harass a high school junior. Looks of shock, disbelief, and pity are seen on the

customers faces as they witness this open act of bullying, but most do not intervene. The next

scene is in the Burger King kitchen where the cook is seen bullying a Whopper Jr. and punching

it. He then neatly folds it up and serves it. As the customers open the bullied Whopper Jr., looks

of shock, disbelief, and anger are seen on their faces as the bullied Whopper Jr. is promptly taken

back to the counter and reported. In the public service announcement by Burger King called

“Bullying Jr.” (McCluskey) which was a social experiment, the company effectively uses

recurring theme, varying points of views, and pathos to demonstrate society’s tolerance toward

bullying in hopes of preventing it.

The reoccurring theme that society tolerates bullying as long as it does not affect them is

demonstrated constantly in this public service announcement by Burger King. The verbal and

physical bullying of the high school junior was tolerated by the majority of the customers that

witnessed it. Whereas the bullying of the Whopper Jr. was not tolerated by the customers, and
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most demanded something be done about it. There are several powerful scenes used that depict

the high school junior being bullied. The scenes also show the customers witnessing the bullying

and doing nothing about it. The high school junior is hit, has his hair pulled, and is pushed out of

his chair. He is tormented by the bullies then asked, “What you are doing here, and do you even

have friends?” (McCluskey). He has a glass of water dumped on his tray of food and can be

heard repeatedly asking the bullies to stop. All these acts of bullying are tolerated by the majority

of the onlookers. There are only two onlookers that take a stand to intervene on behalf of the

high school junior. The outcome was a lot different for the bullied Whopper Jr. the public service

announcement reported that “ninety-five percent” (McCluskey) of the customers reported that

their burger was smashed or bullied. Many of the same customers that witnessed the bullying of

the high school junior and in some cases walk right past the bullying taking place were outraged

demanding a new burger ignoring the acts of bullying happening right in front of them. The

reoccurring theme that is used throughout the public service announcement is profound and

accurately demonstrates society’s lack of willingness to take action in the mist of bullying.

Additionally, the varying viewpoints that are captured by the hidden cameras provide a

unique perspective and causes the viewer to relate to the situation either by identifying with the

Burger King customer, the bullies, or the bullied. The close-up shots of the bullies and the high

school junior, which are the actors, allow the viewer to see the expressions on their faces clearly.

The look of desperation can be seen on the high school juniors face as he is bullied. The viewers

can instantly identify with him if they have ever been bullied themselves. The bullies are seen

smiling with looks of pleasure and amusement on their faces, which the public service

announcement hopes will trigger feelings of guilt and regret in the viewer if they have ever

bullied another person. The individual shots of the customers as they open their bullied Whopper
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Jr. allows the viewers to see the shock and disbelief many have felt on numerous occasions when

opening their meals and seeing messed up orders. The way the public service announcement uses

the hidden cameras to film the interactions between the characters gives it a popular reality TV

vibe using “unscripted footage of real-life events” (Metz) which keeps the viewers interested and

curious and provides a unique twist.

Last of all, the emotional highs and lows utilized through pathos during the public service

announcement that the viewers feel while witnessing this staged social experiment provides for a

highly powerful and effective message. The viewers experience a wide array of emotions.

Feelings of empathy can be felt in the opening lines as innocent children describe instances of

bullying in their life. The viewer is hooked immediately. Next the public service announcement

takes the viewers on another roller coaster of emotions as they witness the bullying of the high

school junior at Burger King. Feelings of shock, disbelief, and concern are felt for the high

school junior. While feelings of anger and disgust are felt about the bullies. The public service

announcement does add the element of comedy when the cook is seen in the Burger King kitchen

punching the Whopper Jr. and asking the burger “What, do you think your special?”

(McCluskey) and also when the customers take their bullied Whopper Jr. back to the counter and

are asked did, they order their burgers “bullied or unbullied?” (McCluskey). These lines cause

the viewers to chuckle. This public service announcement invokes a vast array of emotions for

the viewer.

Burger King demonstrated that a message can deliver great power when they produced

the public service announcement “Bullying Jr.” they proved that society is willing to overlook

bullying as long as it does not directly affect them. Burger King released the public service

announcement to coincide with National Bullying Prevention Month, and their message has gone
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viral (Torossian, et al.). The public service announcement was “ranked number six in 2017 AD

Week” (Nikolopoulou). The public service announcement by Burger King expertly uses varying

viewpoints, pathos, and reoccurring themes to show that ninety-five percent of their real

customers would report the bullying of the Whopper Jr. while only a shocking twelve percent of

the real customers would step in and stop the bullying of a person (McCluskey). The results of

this social experiment that Burger King turned into a public service announcement is quit

alarming and causes the viewer to think about the serious problem that many children face every

day and encourages hope for a better future where people will stand up to the injustice of

bullying.
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Works Cited

McCluskey, Megan. “Watch Burger King's Moving New Anti-Bullying PSA.” Time, Time, 23 Oct.

2017, time.com/4993403/burger-king-anti-bullying-psa/. Accessed 11 November 2019.

Metz, Winifred Fordham. “How Reality TV Works.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 7 Dec.

2007, entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv.htm. Accessed 20 November 2019.

Nikolopoulou, Konstantina. “Burger King ‘Bullying Jr’ Ad Campaign.” Medium, Medium, 1 Apr.

2018, medium.com/@conniepanteion/burger-king-bullying-jr-ad-campaign-b5095df2e2b9.

Accessed 24 November 2019.

Torossian, Ronn, et al. “Burger King's Poignant Anti-Bullying Campaign Gets New Social

Life.” Agility PR Solutions, 19 Oct. 2018, www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/burger-

kings-poignant-anti-bullying-campaign-gets-new-social-life/. Accessed 24 November 2019.