Brazilian social media users have coined plenty of names for different types of baldness, such as “the hairy bald” and “long forehead.” Burger King got in on the game by dubbing the combination of a receding hairline and a bald spot “the bald thru,” while luring customers to its drive-throughs.

A film from agency David São Paulo celebrates several creatively named forms of baldness, like the back of head bald spot dubbed “the magic 8 bald” or receding hairline with long hair called the “baldilocks.” The Bald Thru gets its name for resembling a drive-through, with a distinct entrance and exit and place to order in the middle.

The ad offers a free Whopper to drive-through customers who show off their matching balding hair.

David São Paulo executive creative director Rogério Chaves told ADWEEK the campaign was inspired by similarities between the common types of baldness and the structure of the fast food chain’s drive-throughs. The goal was to create a brand association with some of the millions of bald Brazilians.

“It was easy to connect the dots and create this perfect ambassador to make our drive-through always remembered,” he said. “Now, whenever someone sees a bald thru, they directly remember BK.”

The effort is running across Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. So far, it has led to more than 22,000 posts and videos in the first five days since the campaign launch.

“We knew we would have a big movement in the stores, but the results exceeded all expectations,” David São Paulo ecd Fabrício Pretto told ADWEEK. “Half a million bald individuals passed through the drive-through with the cars full, bringing their families to the event. This shows Brazilians know how to laugh at themselves and not take things too seriously. The bald thru became a way to highlight people’s pride in being who they are.”

CREDITS
Agency: David São Paulo
Campaign: The Bald Thru
Client: Burger King Brazil
Global CCO: Pancho Cassis
Global COO: Sylvia Panico
ECDs: Fabrício Pretto, Rogério Chaves, Renata Leão, Marie Julie Gerbauld
ACD: Renato Simon
Art director: Tiago Embrizi
Copywriter: Rafael Barreiros
Account: Tom Gil, Cacá Franklin, Malu Figueiredo, Carolina Assunção
Production team: Fernanda Peixoto, Ana Marques, Letícia Brito
Editor: Silvio Figueira, Victor Folha
Strategy: Carolina Silva, Daniela Altenfelder, Barbara Pires, Helder Silva
Innovation and tech: Toni Ferreira
Social media: Bárbara Bueno, Marcelo Reis, Ully Correa
Global PR director: Sandra Azedo

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