The Russian division of Burger King got a bit too carried away in attempt to celebrate the World Cup.
Earlier this week ads for Burger King in Russia, where the World Cup is currently underway, promised approximately $47,000 and a lifetime supply of Whopper burgers to Russian women if they get pregnant with a World Cup player’s baby.
The promos, which were in Russian, encouraged women to bear the children of football players in order to “lay the foundation for the Russian team’s success several generations ahead,” reports The Moscow Times. The ad also claimed that “women who get pregnant from world football stars” would give birth to children that would inherit “the best football genes.”
The now deleted promotion pic.twitter.com/mg7xETHfQW
— Jenna Fryer (@JennaFryer) June 20, 2018
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Burger King Russia has released an insensitive and distasteful ad. In 2017, The Moscow Times reports the chain parodied an underage rape victim who became a national celebrity after speaking out at a popular Russian evening talk show.
The latest offensive marketing ploy has since been been deleted, and the fast-food chain has apologized to customers. “We are sorry about the clearly offensive promotion that the team in Russia launched online,” Burger King said on Wednesday, June 20 in a statement to The Associated Press. “It said 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.”