Super Bowl Ad 2006: Burger King and the Whopperettes

Super Bowl's around the corner and I'm a little scared. See, I'm a bit frightened by Burger King's "freaky King" and I'm afraid he'll make a repeat appearance during this year's Super Bowl. For the past couple of years, the marketing gurus for the "Home of the Whopper" have decided a plastic-headed, freakish-grinning King is the way to promote flame-broiled burgers. In 2006, the freaky King made his Super Bowl debut with the lovely "Whopperettes." (Click here to watch this ad)

We've seen the plastic-headed freak popping his head in bedroom windows, peering behind building scaffolding many stories high and stalking innocent bystanders in Xbox games over the holiday season. Building on momentum, I have to wonder, what does the King have under his robe for Super Bowl XLI?

The Whopperettes apparently feel the same way I do. In the 60-second commercial, they dress as favorite Whopper condiments such as ketchup, onions and pickles and belt a sweet melody about "having it your way" at Burger King. All the while they twirl, shimmy and sing as though they're in a Broadway musical. They're a little flirty, too, throwing in a wink here and an innocent seductive look there.

And how do I know the Whopperettes share my sentiment? While singing about having a Whopper your way, it's easy to pick up the lyrics of, "ask the freaky king for a Whopper your way."

The King makes a few appearances as the condiments prepare for a finale that rivals Cirque du Sole: building a Whopper. An order is placed, the condiments splash through water and the King fires up the cannon.

The submissive female bottom bun quietly rests as the hamburger patty, a brunette girl-next-door-type drops down from the sky to rest on top of the bun. Pickles are tossed on and release an "uh" sound upon plopping on the patty (I worked at Burger King in college and don't recall them making that type of noise).

Ketchup shoots out of the cannon and lands with another "uh" followed by onions in every bite. Additional condiments continue to sing and dance while tomatoes then lettuce rest on top.

The prettiest top bun descends from the sky, looking almost like a princess. But wait, it's not a bun, it's "Rock Star: INXS" and "Rock Star: Supernova" beauty Brooke Burke. The freaky King has apparently gotten to her!

The commercial ends but the fun of building a Whopper continues. The Whopperettes' Web site (www.whopperettes.com) was introduced to provide virtual fun year-round! On the site, users can enter their name then select which condiments they want on their Whopper. The user's name runs across a marquis and the fanfare begins, just for you! Other extras on the site include AIM icons, screensavers and cell phone ringtones.

Watching the commercial is a bit like watching a bad train wreck. The freaky King scares me, yet, I have to watch to see what's happening. Seems there isn't much for the King to do for this Super Bowl, but I'm sure Burger King will surprise us. They always do.