FAST food chain Burger King has outraged Hindus worldwide with an advertisement depicting Lakshmi, the Indian goddess of wealth, about to tuck into a “Texican Whopper”.
The company withdrew the advertisement from its stores in Spain after Hindus complained at the denigration of their religion.
According to the Telegraph, the advertised product is an affront to Hindu sensitivities in its own right – it includes an all-beef patty, a beef chilli-con-carne slice, egg-based Cajun mayonnaise, all forbidden by strict Hindus.
Some devotees would even be offended by the inclusion of onions which they believe inflame passions.
The goddess and the burger were accompanied by a slogan claiming La merienda es sagrada – the snack is sacred.
Burger King quickly issued this apology:
We are apologising because it wasn’t our intent to offend anyone. Burger King Corporation values and respects all of its guests as well as the communities we serve. This in-store advertisement was running to support only local promotion for three restaurants in Spain and was not intended to offend anyone.
Out of respect for the Hindu community, the limited-time advertisement has been removed from the restaurants.
Earlier this year, Burger King offended Mexican officials with another advertisement for the ‘Texican Whopper’ which depicted a dwarf dressed as a wrestler draped in the Mexican flag.
According to this report, the American Hindu leader Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA), thanked the Burger King management for removing the ad, but added that it should not have been created in the first place. He suggested that Burger King should form an internal team of senior executives who should clear all the publicity material before it went public and this team should be well trained.
If Burger King wanted its executives to learn about world religions, I am willing to help.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
July 10th, 2009 at 8:20 am
The Indians and Hindus would have done a lot of good to themselves if they had allowed these beautiful promotion. At least people around the world know about Lakshmi. Sometimes Indian gods are value for money. And the pictures are wonderful.
Suggest to the Indians and Hindus not to make a fuss about photos of Indian / Hindu gods on advertisements.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am
So an organisation that tells whoppers can dictate to an organisation that sells them.
Mmmmm. I'm lovin' it!
July 10th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Arf, arf, arf….
Anyone else feeling a bit peckish?
July 10th, 2009 at 11:08 am
maybe BK should try it in ireland as a test of the new blasphemy law. Or maybe as a vegetarian I could be outraged at BK selling beef quasi-foods…..and, of course,settle out of court.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:17 am
How petty. There are one hundred and one things these people could do to make the world a better place.They wasted too much time complaining and not helping the poor around them and around the World.
July 10th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hinduism is a false religion anyway – Jesus is the only way to Heaven.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Fee-fi-fo-fom … I smell the crap of a troll called Bob
July 10th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Now don't you go persecuting a good Christian.
I feel the Love of Jesus inside me just like Bob, except I'm a True Christian™ and he isn't.
Now, what's all this about these Hendooz getting their Lungi's in a wad at America's favorite health food?
Some of those skinny dudes look as though they could do with a good meal.
I recommend: http://www.heartattackgrill.com
They need a Burger in their stomachs and Jesus in their hearts.
God bless Jesus and American Burgers.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Bob. Oh Bob is it really you?
This post isn't about whether Hinduism is true or false, it's about whether its okay to slip your meat between a couple of soft buns and claim it's divine!
I'm sure you have an opinion on that.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Your wait is over he's back!
July 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Rajan Zed is a notorious publicity seeker. Nevertheless, using a Hindu goddess in a beef advert does seem particularly crass. They wouldn't have shown Mohammed tucking into a plate of pork sausages, I suspect.
July 10th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Sister Talitha, are you seriously suggesting that the "King" in Burger King is the Lord Jesus, and not Elvis?
July 10th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Only if It's an American True Christian Burger™.
I just Love a Whopper (but not as much as Jesus).
You see, The Lord Created the Burger for America, not for the rest of this God forsaken world.
Now, that Elvis character, he upset God by eating a Burger on the Lavatory so God must have killed him for it.
Burgers even get a mention in The Bible:
Genesis 27: 17 And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Do I hear an Amen?
July 10th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
This habit of becoming outraged and offended is becoming very tiresome and it always defeats my best efforts to empathise, we rationalists simply don't have equivalent beliefs or symbols that we are overly precious about. The closest I could come to something comparable was when I used to practice Karate, for about twelve years I was so totally into it that it could almost be called a way of life. During that time Karate was often lampooned or misrepresented in the media but I can't say I have ever felt outraged or offended in the slightest.
July 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
So burger king didn't intend to offend anyone? I think we all know that this was a VERY deliberate ploy and the religiots fell for it as they do everytime. BK knew that they could spend a little on advertising by deliberately setting out to annoy and end up with maximum exposure when the protesters did all their work for them.
Godless not gormless
July 10th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
So burger king didn't intend to offend anyone? I think we all know that this was a VERY deliberate ploy and the religiots fell for it as they do everytime. BK knew that they could spend the minimum on advertising by deliberately setting out to annoy and end up with maximum exposure when the protesters did all their work for them.
Godless not gormless
July 10th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Yeah. But what about the financial ramifications of alienating all their Hindu customers who will now boycott their beefbu….
Aaaahhh.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Gosh! Beef in a Burger King burger? Who would have guessed …?
July 11th, 2009 at 6:26 am
My thoughts exactly. While one one hand, I'm tired of the "professional offended", the advert does seem particularly crass to me.
July 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I agree. Being gratuitiously offensive for commercial reasons isn't something I feel like defending.
July 11th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Have you often had a Whopper inside you, Sister Talitha?
Burger me!!