“McDonald’s” was Burger King’s Halloween costume in Queens

In October 2016, a Burger King in Rego Park, Queens, put on a Halloween costume. Giant white sheets covered the restaurant and its roadside sign, with “McDonald’s” written across them. Eyeholes exposed Burger King logos underneath, while yellow arches became the ghost’s eyebrows.

The disguise came with a reassurance on the marquee. “Just kidding, we still flame grill our burgers.” The restaurant had borrowed its competitor’s identity for Halloween, while using the punchline to bring attention back to its own cooking method.

Created by DAVID Miami, the campaign was called “Scariest BK.” It took the familiar sheet-ghost costume and enlarged it to cover an entire fast-food location.

The restaurant itself wore the costume

The activation took place at one Burger King at 92-85 Queens Boulevard. For several hours, the building and its sign appeared beneath the oversized disguise. Fog machines near the entrance added to the ghostly effect.

The costume used details that made both brands recognisable. The handwritten McDonald’s name and yellow arches identified the character Burger King was playing. The Burger King logos visible through the eyeholes revealed who was underneath.

That reveal was part of the humour. The location looked like a McDonald’s ghost, but its own branding remained in view. Passersby could understand the rival-brand joke from the street, before reading the line on the sign.

The Whopper received a matching disguise

The idea continued into the packaging. Whoppers were served in custom clamshell boxes designed to resemble Big Mac packaging, carrying the same McDonald’s costume as the restaurant.

The boxes extended the joke from something people saw outside to something customers could hold. Their appearance followed the disguise, while the burger inside remained a Whopper.

Across the building, sign and packaging, the campaign repeated a single idea at different scales. Burger King dressed up as its competitor, then used its flame-grilling message to explain why the resemblance was temporary.

The sign gave the prank a product message

Halloween supplied a natural reason for the disguise. A restaurant could put on a costume just as its customers did, with the rival’s name serving as the supposedly frightening part.

The marquee made the brand’s point explicit. Its flame-grilling line connected the visual prank to how Burger King prepared its burgers. The humour had a product claim built into its ending.

Burger King also released a campaign video, carrying the single-location activation beyond Queens. Photographs of the disguised restaurant circulated online, allowing the costume and its punchline to travel together.

Credits

Brand: Burger King. Campaign: Scariest BK. Agency: DAVID Miami. Chief Creative Officer and Founder: Anselmo Ramos. Creative Directors: Russell Dodson and Tony Kalathara. Art Director: Ricardo Casal. Copywriter: Juan Pena. Design Director: Carlos Lange. Production Company: Crane.tv. Director: Win Bates. Director of Photography: Peter Fackler. Editorial: Cosmo Street Editorial. Editor: Lawrence Young. Post-production: Switch FX. Music: Beacon Street Studios. PR: Alison Brod Public Relations. Location: Rego Park, Queens, New York. Campaign date: October 2016.