Throughout all the discourse surrounding Todd Phillips’ “Joker” —Does it deserve Oscars love? Does it promote violence? How badly did the film rip off Martin Scorsese? — there’s an unintended victim to the film’s popularity that has flown under the radar. That’s right, no matter what you think about the aforementioned questions, there’s no debate that “Joker” was bad for one place in particular — the Bronx. And thankfully, Burger King is here to help the poor folks in the afflicted NYC Burrough.
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Adweek has recently detailed a new ad campaign that Burger King is launching in the Bronx specifically, which takes aim at how “Joker” has made the staircase in the Burrough that Joaquin Phoenix dances down in the film a tourist destination. The ad, which is accompanied by a pretty funny commercial, has the tagline “Dear Bronx, We Know Clowns Can Be Annoying.”
Burger King, a restaurant that has had a decades-long feud with a certain red-haired, burger-selling clown, is now offering residents of the Bronx a free whopper if they use the Uber Eats app to order. The fast-food chain views it as payback for how “Joker” has brought every a-hole from all around the world to these stairs to try their best to act out the now-infamous scene from Phillips’ film.
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We’re unsure how long the ad and promotion will be in effect at Burger King. But sadly, what we do know is that, given how “Joker” seems to be one of the frontrunners for Oscars glory, the staircase in the Bronx has forever changed.