The Barbie movie is being released this week, and Barbiecore is everywhere.. even at Burger King. At least in Brazil, where it's painted stores and logo and is selling a Barbie meal that includes a cheeseburger with bacon bits and a 'smokey' pink sauce, a pink milkshake and a doughnut, also pink, obviously.
But the meal is proving to be divisive. While some hardcore Barbie fans are thrilled, I can't help but think that the colour looks even more frightening than that of the Grimace Shake, and we've all seen the viral Grimace TikTok trend.
oi burger! oi Barbie™️! oi burger! 🍔💖 conheça o Pink Burger, a primeira revelação do Combo BK Barbie™️, q chegou direto de Barbie Land™️ pic.twitter.com/Vt2cWhedMkJuly 11, 2023
No it's not a fake ad like those Maybelline adverts on London transport. This impossibly coloured meal combo shown on Burger King Brazil's Twitter and TikTok served up by an employee in strappy pink heels and a Burger King polo actually exists. We've seen all kinds of Barbie merch released ahead of the July 20 release of Warner Bros's Barbie movie, but the BK Barbie Combo has to be scariest.
Sure, the meal could be interpreted as making clever commentary about the film's characters (the 'vanilla' milkshake is artificially flavoured with 'strawberry' Nesquik powder and the side order of 'Ken’s potatoes' are just normal fries, because 'he's just Ken'. But can anyone really find pink sauce on a burger appetising?
Burger King Brazil has even turned its logo pink (Image credit: Burger King Brazil)
Burger King Brazil's social media posts have received millions of views, and fans have been posting photos of their hot pink meals with much excitement. But others aren't so sure.
“It looks like the burger has PeptoBismol as the sauce in the middle. It’s telling me the burger is going to give me indigestion but, not to worry because the Pepto is there to counteract the upset.” 4/10 rating in 120.43sYes. Yes, it does. @Pepto should approve. pic.twitter.com/TD2aPDQxl7July 14, 2023
"I’m so sorry but the pink burger looks like someone chewed a piece of bubblegum & spread it out on the thing," one person wrote on Twitter. Others have described it as a "Pepto-Bismol burger" or simply "SICKENING".
We're wondering if the meal is an attempt by Burger King to create its own Grimace trend. After all, we've seen how intense the McDonald's vs Burger King battle is in Brazil. Alas, it seems the meal is restricted to Brazil only unlike the red-bunned Whopper released for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
