I'll enjoy a Jr. Whopper today.

Yeah, it kinda got to me. But "cowardice" shaming is just another form of bullying. We all hope we'd do something.

You don't have to wade into the table with a superhero mask and cape. Just saying "Guys guys... lighten up on the kid..." would be enough to defuse a real situation 90% of the time. If they don't knock it off then bring it up to the store manager. It's not rocket science, which is pretty much the point of the ad.

I'd like to know how many other customers were present during times people stepped in to stop the bullies vs. not.

When a lot of people witness a crime, it's more likely no one will do anything than when only one (or a very small number) witness it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_…

Also, these social experiments are interesting but not very scientifically sound. And forcing people into experiments like this is not ethical... if you tried to run this past an internal review board (what real scientists are required to do) they'd never let it through.

But yeah, it is a good reminder to step in when you see something happening. And by "step in" the customers should have simply gone to the front counter, asked for a manager, and told them someone was being bullied. I wouldn't step in and try to stop it myself. This is America, you're liable to get shot.

This is what conceal carry was designed for.

I've never had to deal with something exactly like this, but I have seen situations that could have been bullying, could have been horseplay, but that *look* like bullying.

And what I've done is some version of "Is everything OK here?" directed at the possible victim, or "What's going on here, boys?" directed at the group. Then I just stay there. Looking at them. Talking, nonconfrontationally, if they talk to me. The possible victim says "Yeah, I'm OK", the others say "We're just fooling around", and they drift away. The possible victim, so far every time, in the opposite direction from the others.

I'd be unwilling, as a stranger totally unacquainted with the dynamic of the group, to do more than just break it up. You don't want to be giving the possible bullies a lecture or a dressing down, when, first, you don't really know exactly what is happening, and, second, you are the adult in a position of power now maybe being a bully yourself to a group of kids. Plus the possible repercussions to the victim if the bullies blame him for getting them in trouble. Which they will.

But if there's no trouble, just a clear and obvious and interested witness, things just dissolve - this time, at least.

It probably helps that I've got "teacher voice" - I'm used to talking to kids, I'm used to being listened to by kids.

Is would have been way better with Melania.

The ad is a sweet confection, designed through many long billable hours to tug on the heartstrings and, more importantly, to burnish the public image of Burger King. By presenting BK as [A] caring about the children, [B] aware of—and on the right side of—social issues, and [C] culturally relevant (They went viral! How cool is that?), the agency scored a triple-play.

I'm sure this was a real "experiment", but the methods and goals are less clear. Rest assured everyone shown here are actors, and this “experiment” took place over one or two long nights of filming with no paying customers present. Though two of the people shown are identified with captions as "real customers", I'll let you wonder whether or not this means they are members of the public who walked into an operating franchise during secret filming, or actors who signed a statement that they have indeed eaten at a Burger King at some point in the past.

The “statistics” cited may well have been cooked up in the deep fat fryer, since no definition of "real customer" is given here. Experience tells me that they may have allowed some members of the public to watch the staged "bullying" scene (in exchange for free food and a chance to watch a film production) and they may have "bullied" those burgers and asked for responses (95% reported the damaged burgers, duh, but the filmed banter at the counter was surely staged). The other "statistic" is even stranger: "12% of the customers stood up to the High School Jr. being bullied". What does "stood up to" mean in the context of a film set full of actors, producers, lighting, and other equipment, but what’s more bizarre, why would anyone stand up to the one being bullied? Perhaps the caption should have said "stood up for the High School Jr."? Guess the copywriter won't be getting an award.

Only the first statistic is cited (30% of students worldwide are bullied each year. Source: nobully.org [emphasis, mine]), and even this seems vaguely parsed and qualified on their we…. I'm not arguing that bullying isn't bad or a prevalent problem worldwide, but while I'm sure that Burger King and No Bully have the best intentions for the children of the world, I'm also a very skeptical consumer of PR.

The agency will get an award nomination for finding an innovative way to promote their client without focusing on the food (genius!) while highlighting a social issue that even their right-wing customers might be able to accept as valid (risky!). I'm sure there are plenty of kids and parents who will now have more positive impressions of BK, and may consider choosing them over McD's. Nevermind the obesity, the antibiotics, industrial farming, the methane. Mission accomplished!

That said—I hadn't planned to sink an hour into this adfotainment—I really did admire the assertive woman's (scripted) approach to the "bully": Simply making eye contact with the victim, focusing on his well-being, before peacefully engaging the aggressor by asking his name and shaking his hand. Great de-escalation technique. (I'm sure these tips came directly from nobully.org and were fed into the agency's brief.) I wonder who was responsible for casting that woman to seem like a strong and caring off-duty cop. Now that was genius.