Burger King pulls ad suggesting its food is an alternative to drugs

The controversial ad shows a Whopper smashing a poppy flower. (YouTube/ Burger King)

Burger King is in hot water over an ad it released in Russia that suggests its food is better than drugs.

Earlier this week Russian media outlets reportedly refused to run a Burger King ad that opens with a Whopper crushing a red poppy flower, with the following voice over: ”This is a poppy. It was popular once, but now its time has passed.” The poppy flower, in which its seeds are used to create many forms of narcotics, including opium and heroin, is meant to symbolize a habit.  The burger is crushing that habit and replacing it with its food, reported The Moscow Times.

Now the fast food company has yanked the ad from its YouTube channel.

The Moscow Times also added that the ad's tagline is a play on words. The Russian word for "poppy" is "mak," which sounds like "Big Mac," the popular sandwich produced by Burger King rival McDonald's.