Burger King’s Moldy Whopper Adds Grand Prix Wins at Epica Awards to Its Banner Year

Burger King’s Moldy Whopper, putrid as it may be, has enjoyed several accolades this year.

It picked up a coveted Black Pencil at this year’s D&AD Awards and took the No. 3 spot on Adweek’s 25 Best Ads of 2020 list, to name a few. And as the year comes to a close, it’s picking up a few more wins.

At this year’s Epica Awards, a global competition judged by an international panel of industry journalists, Moldy Whopper took home the Grand Prix in three categories: Film, Public Relations and Print. The Epica Awards held its ceremony virtually on Dec. 17.

The Moldy Whopper made its debut in February. Created by David Miami, Publicis Bucharest and Stockholm-based Ingo, the crux of the campaign is a time-lapse film that shows Burger King’s signature menu item rotting over the span of a month.

The stunt was created to illustrate the chain’s commitment to ending its use of artificial preservatives. According to Burger King, it’s removed them from the Whopper in most European countries and select locations in the U.S.

“Swipe Night,” an interactive campaign created by 72andSunny Los Angeles for Tinder, won the Digital Grand Prix. The choose-your-own-adventure series debuted ahead of Halloween last year on the dating app.

A jigsaw puzzle that Heinz created in partnership with Rethink Canada walked away with the Design Grand Prix. When puzzle sales began to soar earlier this year following lockdown orders, the brand jumped on the opportunity to create its own.

In the Responsibility category, the Grand Prix went to “Through Your Eyes,” a campaign for an organ donation organization called Incucai in Argentina. Created by Wunderman Thompson Buenos Aires, the campaign partnered the organization with Sony Music and Argentine musician Dante Spinetta on a music video.

To watch the video on a mobile device, viewers have to point it directly at another person’s eyes; otherwise, it’s blurry. The music video was created to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people awaiting a corneal transplant and to encourage donations.

Editor’s Note: The reporter who wrote this article served on the jury of this year’s Epica Awards.