Burger King's Net Neutrality Ad Is Oddly Persuasive

Even though the FCC vote to repeal net neutrality protections has come and gone, people are still talking about it left and right. The topic is becoming so visible that even companies that seemingly have no stake in whether or not net neutrality survives are getting in on the debate. Case in point is Burger King, which today rolled out a new ad focused entirely on educating its customers on the pitfalls of having Title II regulations for net neutrality repealed.

In the ad, we see actors posing as Burger King employees attempt to pull one over on customers ordering a Whopper. Burger King, it would appear, has implemented a new fast lane method of getting your Whopper after you order, mimicking the fear that ISPs will implement fast lanes for some traffic without these net neutrality protections in place.

If you pay the standard fare for your Whopper, as these customers did, you'll have an extended wait ahead of you, even though the burger itself is finished shortly after you order it. On the other hand, you can pay extra to move up tiers, with those who pay a whopping $26 (no pun intended) getting their orders in expedient fashion. The actors posing as Burger King employees point out that the company thinks it can make more money selling chicken sandwiches and products, so has therefore decided to "slow down access to the Whopper."

The results, as you can guess, are equal parts funny and frustrating. The customers who are being fooled know there's no real reason for Burger King to slow down the delivery of their food; it's just doing this to squeeze some extra cash out of people who want to eat now. Of course, when the ruse is up, the actors teach these unsuspecting customers about the repeal of net neutrality protections, with some of them saying that this little experiment opened their eyes to the issue.

In the end, this is ultimately just an ad for Burger King, but with that said, it's a pretty good one that touches on some of the fears associated with net neutrality repeal. At the very least, it's a funny video that will hopefully get some people thinking about net neutrality in general. What did you think of the ad? Head down to the comments section and let us know!