Gordon Ramsay gets the cold shoulder in Burger King’s latest ad

Burger King UK takes the celeb chef playbook and turns it on its head.

Their new campaign, Not Made By Gordon, stars Gordon Ramsay not as a collaborator, but as the guy who didn’t make the burger.

Instead of the usual chef-approved fanfare, the BBH-led campaign leans into a different kind of flex: a world-class burger that’s so good, it feels like Ramsay could’ve made it – except he didn’t, and he’s hilariously salty about it.

The multi-channel rollout includes a series of tongue-in-cheek spots directed by Artur Wolgers and out-of-home visuals by Mark Peckmezian.

The films show Ramsay repeatedly trying (and failing) to muscle his way into the BK kitchen, while the OOH work features moody shots of the new Wagyu burger, with Ramsay just out of view a deliberate snub that turns the usual endorsement model inside out.

“When you’re so confident in your product, you hire a celeb chef just to tell the world they had nothing to do with it,” said Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes at BBH. “That’s pure Burger King.”

Katie Evans, CMO of Burger King UK, keeps it simple: “We’re celebrating the launch of our most gourmet burger yet, The Wagyu. So good you’d think a certain world renowned chef had made it, but he didn’t. Sorry Gordon.”

Media buying was led by Walk in Media, with the campaign rolling out across TV, print, OOH and radio.

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