# Burger King Whopper Neutrality

> Burger King explained net neutrality with a stunt that drew 1 million views in a day.

- Owner: Burger King
- Kind: Campaign
- Sector: Food & beverage
- Seed date: 2018-01-24
- Peak date: 2018-01-25
- Spread Score: 52 (Notable, provisional), v1.2
- Mechanics: Real-world spectacle, Platform jump, Political adoption, Newsjacking, Controversy, Transgression

## Summary

Burger King released a burger-service stunt about net neutrality on January 24, 2018. The ad spread through social shares and television coverage. State and federal senators cited it; a later Cannes case claimed a sales return without disclosing its calculation.

## Timeline

- 2017-12-14 — Federal Communications Commission (Open web) — The FCC adopted its net-neutrality repeal order, which would take effect on June 11, 2018.
- 2018-01-24 — Burger King (YouTube) — Burger King released Whopper Neutrality, using burger wait times to explain net neutrality.
- 2018-01-24 — The Verge (Press) — The Verge covered the ad and its analogy for paid prioritization.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/burger-king-whopper-neutrality

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “Burger King Whopper Neutrality.” Case HIS-00071. Spread Score v1.2: 52/100. Updated 2026-10-13. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-00071