Does anyone think it even comes close to looking like this?
Burger King — I’m not so old to not still know street drug argot when I hear it. So Burger King is now selling a “shroom” burger? Shroom? This is only a reference to Psilocybin “Magic” mushrooms — an hallucinogenic species. So who is the marketing guy for Burger King? Timothy Leary Jr? Are they going to advertise big in High Times? Is the CEO Iceberg Slim? What’s next? A “bud” burger?
Oh, wait. Maybe they are just plain clueless. Either that or there is a druggie in marketing. Charming.
Houlihans has been selling ‘shrooms for years. Pretty tasty, for a calorieless, non-fat food fried in saturated fat.
I gave up on burger king when I tried one of their veggetarian burgers and it tasted like rejected cardboard from bennigans.
Isn’t it obvious that BK marketing is on drugs? How else do you explain the creepy plastic-headed Burger King commercials?
And you know that “`shrooms” is a doper code-word because..?
One wonders if they really are mushroom or if it is a case of “shakes” which are called that because they contain no milk.
On the other hand, this is the same campaign that has the self-help guru proclaiming, “I’m full of sit! You’re full of sit! We’re all full of sit!” so I have little trouble imagining that any drug references might be intentional.
Ya, I don’t think ‘shroom’ is a bad word to use. I actually WORKED at Houlihan’s and their ‘shrooms’ are amazing. Even when referring to the drug, shrooms is still just short for mushrooms.
They definitely do have the weirdest marketing in the industry. Witness P. Diddy’s “Diddy TV” which is supposedly set up by BK. The man is a joke and BK became a joke when Diddy said in his YouTube video, “Burger King has declared me the King of Fashion and Style”.
Big D,
I think your a little out there now. Couldn’t you be blogging about something that isn’t and a totally acceptable abbreviation for a totally common food? If you look at this and speculate that someone in marketing is on drugs, maybe you should relax and take some yourself. Oh sweet MUshrooms. They aren’t exactly selling a weed sandwich. Couldn’t you speculate on someone more exciting who is doing drugs (pres) than some marketing dude for a crappy fast food joint (no pun intended)?
I think it’s acceptable alternative for mushrooms. The bigger problem is the asterisk. Processed pasteurized Swiss cheese. In other words, you can’t get real Swiss cheese in America, and they’re putting out disclaimers to avoid a lawsuit.
#3 I took some criminology when I was in college, that’s how! And that’s where I learned the word argot too. It’s commonly used in crim circles to describe criminal street lingo.
check this out: http://argot.com/
#3, 13
More on the subject here and here.
13: That would have been my last guess. 😉 If I reaaally stretch my imagination, I can posit that this was, perhaps, an attempt to reach all those beer-bong shots filtering out of academia onto MySpace — the Jack-In-The-Ebola commercial featuring the bobblehead that recomends buying 99 cent tacos in bulk might be a better example of the attempt to reach this demographic.
Myself, I studdied advertising in college (at which time I realized I’m simply not amoral enough for the field) and personally wouldn’t bother marketing to any drug besides cocaine; the rest never seem to have any money for some odd reason.
14: Your second link also indirectly links to the WSJ article of a couple months back, detailing the most recent attempt to study the drug. Notable because the WSJ summarizes the experiment as “showing psylocibin induces mystical experiences with apparent lasting beneficial effects” — IMHO, however, it’s more notable for the fact that the experiment isolated a group of individuals apparently at random with such drab, misspent lives that the experience should have been so significant for them.
I suppose it’s what comes of the attempt to pigeonhole anything vaguely epiphanal or transcendental as “supernatural”.
had it yesterday – pretty tasty… for fast food.
and if we’re comenting on signs… i wish i had a picture of the sign outside of the hostpital next to the corporation I work for – its for the coffee bar in the hostpital – its called “The Daily Dose”… lol make me laugh whenever i see it.
There are more drugs in advertising than you can shake a stick at and aren’t we getting upset about nothing.Bitch about the qaulity of the food they sell.I can hardly stand the stink of a Burger King at noon.
I’ve never actually eaten in a BK…..but those commercials with the King guy peeking into bedrooms with that pervy smile creeped me out. Either the guy who came up with that is a perv or a druggie.
Note to self: Do not invite JCD for this year’s Christmas carols. May have a problem with the likes of “our gay apparel,” “round yon virgin,” “Vixen and Blitzen,” and “Oh come all ye faithful.”
RBG
So those burgers dont come with the good kind of shrooms? At least $2.95 gets wasted.
Drug references aside, I’m always concerned when a food corporation uses a cute name for a normal food. Case in point — “cheez”. It ain’t cheese. I wonder if ‘shrooms are code for “processed mushroom food product”.
I think Dvorak must have too much time on his hands…
Seriously, who thinks about this crap besides bloggers? Does it really matter that some marketing guys decided to go with “shrooms” instead of “mushrooms”? I guess that since I wasn’t around in the good ol’ 60s, I don’t constantly think about drug culture and whether or not something is a reference to getting stoned all the time. It’s just a word, get over it!
I think that burger king commercials are great, shrooms are just another word for mushrooms, would you rather call them mush, “Angus Mush and Swiss”, i think they made the right choice when it comes to right part of the word to use.
Acctually this burger is mighty tastey! ‘shroooooms!
Its not a big deal.. And who says they’re not halucinoginic?