'Misleading' Burger King 'veggie' Whopper ad banned

Burger King has been rapped by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for misleadingly suggesting one of its burgers was suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Promotional materials for the burger chain’s ‘Rebel Whopper’ described it as “plant-based” with “no beef” and “powered by the vegetarian butcher”, with small text stating the burger was cooked on the same grill as meat products. The burger also contained egg-based mayonnaise.

Burger King excluded the vegetarian butcher logo from its television adverts as it was considered potentially misleading and added that a customer who did not want mayonnaise could have excluded it from their order.

But the ASA judged the small print was not sufficiently prominent and lacked any mention of the egg mayonnaise to override the overall impression that the burger was suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

It is the second time the group has been told off by the ASA after a tweet in November last year was deemed “irresponsible” for encouraging people to ‘milkshake’ Brexit party leader Nigel Farage.

Burger King launches plant-based Whopper that's not suitable for vegans >>

Burger King milkshake tweet ‘irresponsible’ >>