The Burger King Whopper song is a bop — we asked experts why

Its lyrics, like poetry: WHOPPER, WHOPPER, WHOPPER, WHOPPER, JUNIOR, DOUBLE, TRIPLE WHOPPER

Art. Pure art.

The Burger King Whopper song is a viral and inescapable phenomenon, driving memes and TikTok parodies while exasperating NFL fans across the country. You’ve probably heard it on your TV, web browser, or TikTok For You Page. And now you’re hearing it again, and again in your head.

We spoke with music production, advertising, and meme experts to understand why it has such a hold on listeners.

According to OKRP — the Chicago-based advertising agency that’s responsible for the song and the ad campaign — the tune is based on a 1970s Burger King jingle.

OKRP announced its partnership with Burger King in April. Articles announcing the relationship said OKRP was hired to help reintroduce Burger King to audiences through new campaigns and messaging.

The new “You Rule” ad series began airing in October. There are at least seven versions promoting the Whopper as well as a chicken sandwich version with the same melody. The lyrics for that one go, “CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN, CHICKEN.” Two versions (Whopper Whopper and Burger Cheese Burger Cheese) are available on Burger King’s new Spotify account.

The jingles were developed by Beacon Street productions out of Venice California, according to Burger King’s marketing department. But the singer remains a mystery.

“While we can’t reveal the name of the artist behind the ‘Whopper, Whopper’ jingle, we’re excited to continue working with Beacon Street and OKRP to develop more catchy tunes you can’t get out of your head,” Burger King vice president of marketing Zahra Nurani said.

Jennifer Lovrinic Freeman, who teaches advertising research strategy at Temple University, said when it comes to ads, especially on social media, the power of a catchy jingle can’t be denied.

“In fact, many research studies have shown that music in advertising does increase consumer attention and interest,” she said. “This is especially true when people are multi-tasking with multiple devices, which is nearly always the case when people are watching TV or online shows.”

Freeman said when it comes to the Whopper ads, repetition of the word “Whopper,” plus folding in the well-known BK slogan, “have it your way,” make for great tools for consumers to remember the song — “whether we like it or not.”

Quickly, the ads — which have frequently aired during NFL games — caught on and were mocked across the internet.

The internet also ridiculed how serious news broadcasts could abruptly jump to “WHOPPER, WHOPPER...” abruptly.

Infamously, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field last month, many viewers tweeted about a cut to the ill-timed Whopper ad. Broadcast stations aren’t typically able to control when viewers see ads.

“TikTok after TikTok was posted that day of people recording their TV screens as the coverage jumped between his [Hamlin’s] cardiac arrest and the Whopper commercial,” Know Your Meme associate editor Owen Carry told The Inquirer. “After that moment is when the meme really took off. It was like the catalyst for its perceived annoyance and tragic, comedic timing.”

Still, the “You Rule” songs have become known among football fans because of their undeniable catchiness and sheer frequency.

TikTok user @dak4mvp88 joked they’d viewed the ad “10 times an hour.” A TikTok by user @_steezy_7 played the song with the caption: “POV [Point of view]: Your NFL team is getting absolutely demolished and this Commercial plays for the 30th time.”

According to Carry at Know Your Meme, the ad’s staying power has to do with “the song being a perfectly designed jingle, it seemingly playing during every commercial break of the NFL season.”

Burger King itself has leaned into the joke. Last month, the brand account tweeted about the lyrics getting stuck in viewers’ heads.

On TikTok, the song has been made into its own shareable audio clip, with some users remixing the song in different ways.

One remix took the Royal Chicken jingle and remixed it to slow down or speed up each time the lyrics say “chicken.” It’s part of a popular meme that takes sounds and mocks repetitive words “to a nauseating degree,” according to Carry.

Others have taken it a step further, creating mashups of the Whopper tune with popular songs including Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, aptly titled “Bohemian Whoppsody.”

Michael Johnson, a Philly-based music producer and University of the Arts associate professor, said that for a song to become an “earworm” — a catchy song that can’t escape your mind — it needs “simplicity, repetition and in the case of jingles, a dash of absurdity.”

Examples include Subway’s “Five Dollar Foot Long,” Chili’s “Baby Back Ribs,” and, a personal favorite of Johnson’s, Where’d the Cheese Go by Ween, a rejected Pizza Hut jingle.

Johnson said the song has a relatable, lower production feel because of its simple lyrics and the singer’s seemingly minimally edited tone.

“Everybody knows a jolly gentle giant of a man like the vocalist in this song,” Johnson told The Inquirer. “Can’t quite sing, but always goes hard.”

The short answer is “probably.”

Neither Burger King nor OKRP have publicized plans surrounding the Super Bowl.

But even without confirmation, speculation about a fire new BK jingle is rampant on Twitter.

“It will definitely be interesting to see if and how BK uses this meme attention for its chosen Super Bowl ad,” Carry said. “The campaign is arguably the most hated by NFL fans since the 2008 ‘Saved by Zero’ Toyota campaign, at least digging through lots of discourse about it.”

In short: you’re going to be hearing this tune for a while. Because even when it stops, it stays in your head.