Love burgers? Melbourne's Mr Burger wants you to prove it by changing your name.
People really love burgers.
They’ll line up for hours in the heat to purchase one. They’ll consume burgers that are bigger than their head. And now it seems that some folk will legally change their name in order to ensure they can enjoy free fistfuls of meat for the rest of their life.
Australian burger chain Mr Burger (which has as couple of brick-and-mortar locations throughout Melbourne as well as a fleet of burger trucks) will give you a lifetime’s supply of burgers if you legally change your surname to "Burger."
As Broadsheet points out, the Mr Burger team has a history of stunt-pulling and their first response was to take the announcement with a grain of (chicken) salt — for April Fool’s Day the same marketing team fooled hungry Melbourne folk into thinking they were getting a burger tram. Which is a damn cruel prank when you think about it.
But apparently, this marketing move is 100 percent real.
“We like to have fun at Mr Burger, and giving someone burgers for life if they change their last name to ‘Burger’ seems about the most fun thing we can do,” reads the competition page.
Anyone who legally changes their name by the closing date will be entitled to a burger a day for the rest of their life (or for as long as they retain the last name ‘Burger’ — they will need ID to collect).
Marketing manager Maleik Edwards says the competition comes on the back of Brexit and “a news month that was grim and boring.”
“Mr Burger is irreverent and we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” he explains.
“We’re these big orange trucks driving around Melbourne and we wanted to do something bright and funny to catch the attention of people”.
So if you’re game and you really, really like free burgers, here’s how to enter:
— Legally change your last name to ‘Burger’. Anyone over the age of 18 can enter. Apparently Mr Burger will even cover the application fee once the deed is done.
— Send them an email with a copy of the name change confirmation from the Australian Government.
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
So far, the burger chain has yet to receive any submissions.
UPDATE: On Thursday, Mr Burger Tweeted out that the Australian government intervened, asking the chain to immediately halt the promotion.
"We received a letter from the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office asking that we cease our quest in finding ‘Australia’s Next Mr (or Mrs) Burger’, stating that no applications to change one’s name to ‘Burger’ would be granted, as the process was being used for an ‘improper purpose’. Laughing time is over," posted the chain.
But don't despair burger lovers. Mr Burger says it will reimburse any fees for those who started the name change process. And on Friday, July 1, the chain will be handing out free burgers at one of its Melbourne locations. Better luck next time, Burgers.
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