Flipping Buns Corporate tie-ins for LGBT Pride are a worldwide phenomenon, but the themes for these things are starting to get a little… baroque. Take Burger King Austria’s attempt to connect Pride with hamburger buns. Someone in marketing must have noticed that burger buns and gay men have something in common: both come in “tops” and “bottoms”—and voilà! Soon they were churning out Whoppers that didn’t have the usual bun configuration but instead either two top or two bottom buns. Everyone was confused. People took to the chat boards to explain patiently that two tops or two bottoms makes no sense: “It doesn’t work that way.” Burger King was a laughing stock—though perhaps they should get some credit for getting people to talk about gay sex. A company spokesperson explained that the point of the campaign was to show that “We are all the same inside.” (Well, yes: we’re talking about a mass-produced, highly standardized product.) The final upshot of the switcheroo was to remind us that the traditional Whopper is already a perfect pairing of one top and one bottom.
