Burger King forks out $65,000 for 'tone deaf' advertisement for a $20,000 scheme for women chefs

Burger King reportedly paid $65,000 for their “tone deaf” ad publicising their $25,000 scholarship for women chefs, according to reports.

In a controversial post for International Women’s Day, they said “women belong in the kitchen” before elaborating more detail outlining their new scheme to get more women in the culinary industry as at the moment, it stands at only 20 per cent female.

This post sparked debate about if it was cashing in on sexist sentiment or if it was a sure-fire way to go viral on the day dedicated to celebrating the labour rights milestones of women. Since they sent the tweet, it has been deleted and an apology has been issued.

Alongside this viral social media strategy, they took out a print ad in The New York Times that according to The Washington Post cost $65,000 (£46,700) while the scholarship itself was only worth $25,000 ($18,000).

The ad expressed the same message as the much-debated tweet, along with stating, “If there’s a professional kitchen, women belong there.”

According to The Burger King Foundation, the Helping Equalize Restaurants (H.E.R) aims to give “at least two H.E.R Scholarship awards of $25,000 granted to the most qualified employees from the pool of eligible and submitted applicants.”

Qualifications to receive the fund include proof of high school education, a US Citizen, a place on a culinary course and on the Burger King payroll, among other things outlined on the website.

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