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Burger King Trolled Customers to Perfectly Explain Net Neutrality

In a new ad spot, the fast food chain uses Whoppers to teach customers about net neutrality.
Image: Screengrab, Youtube

My job is to explain complex technical and policy concepts, and I think I’m pretty good at it, but a new Burger King ad explaining net neutrality put me to shame (yes, really):

Burger King created a “fast lane” for Whoppers in the commercial, which allowed customers who paid more to get their burger faster. Without the net neutrality rules that the Federal Communications Commission repealed last year, internet companies could charge customers more for faster access to certain online content, just like the Whopper fast lane. They could prioritize some content over others (chicken sandwiches over Whoppers, for example) and throttle service on content for some users (very, very slowly handing over the bag).

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Look, I’m not one to gush over brands, and at the end of the day Burger King’s goal is to appeal to woke millennials so it can sell more burgers. But it created a really useful PSA in the process, which also points viewers to an online petition where they can protest the change in the law.

Oh, and in case you missed it, there’s even a dig at FCC Chair Ajit Pai at the end:

Image: Zach Gibson/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Youtube

Well done, Burger King PR team, well done.

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