BRUSSELS: The Belgian royal family on Saturday rapped Burger King over an online advertising campaign suggesting a new “king” for the European nation.

The offending advert, found on the whoistheking.be website in French and Dutch, asks users to pick between “King Philippe” on the left and “Burger King” on the right. Those who choose Philippe — represented by a cartoon image that doesn’t seem to resemble the real monarch — are then asked: “Are you sure you want to elect King Philippe? He won’t be the one to cook your fries”.

But the Belgian royal family was not amused. “We disapprove of this approach,” royal spokesman Pierre Emmanuel de Bauw told AFP, saying the monarchy had contacted the burger chain over the ad. “The use of the King’s image is subject to authorisation,” he said. “In this particular case, we received no requests. Since it is for commercial purposes, we would not have given our authorisation.”

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2017