Burger King sorry for Russian ad offering free Whoppers to women impregnated by World Cup players

Credit: Gene J. Puskar

Credit: Gene J. Puskar

Several corporations have launched campaigns for the World Cup, but Burger King is being criticized for one many have called offensive and sexist.

On Tuesday, the Russian division of the fast-food chain announced a new promotion online that offered women $47,000 and a lifetime supply of Whoppers if they got impregnated by athletes competing in the series.

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"It is a reward for the girls who would get pregnant from the international football superstars," read the campaign, which was posted on the Russian social media platform Vkontakte.

Soon after it was uploaded, the company received backlash on Twitter.

Burger King later removed the advertisement, but it was still being posted by Russian social network users.

"We are sorry about the clearly offensive promotion that the team in Russia launched online," Burger King said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that the offer "does not reflect our brand or our values and we are taking steps to ensure this type of activity does not happen again."

This isn’t the first time the Russian division of the company has been condemned. Last year, it depicted a 17-year-old rape victim in a “buy one burger get one free” ad. It was also taken down.

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