Burger King Ads Leaning on Sports (and Vice Versa)

Burger King's been a busy advertiser lately, but especially with regard to sports programming. The quick serve chain restaurant tallied an estimated 3.5 billion (according to real-time TV ad analytics company iSpot.tv) with its spots from December 1, 2017 through January 3, 2018 -- and significant portion of those impressions came from sports programming.Specifically, Burger King was a big part of any NBA or NFL action viewers have watched over the course of the last month or so. According to iSpot, BK was the NBA's largest brand advertiser in the time period, while it was the NFL's sixth-largest. The two leagues yielded the largest audiences for Burger King spots by a longshot vs. other programs where the brand's ads appeared.But more than just buying impressions, Burger King was also earning valuable attention from consumers during both types of programs, too.On average, all Burger King commercials scored an attention score of 93.1 for airings during NBA broadcasts. Attention score being the percentage of an ad that is played across the TV device. That number was also relatively high (89.76) for the NFL as well.Of the BK spots that caught consumer attention the most, "Small Package" led the way with a 95.54 attention score. "Big Deal on a Big Meal" and "Freshly Baked" also reached attention scores of 94 or above during the timeframe.As the NFL Playoffs get rolling and the NBA season continues, it seems likely Burger King continues to target both leagues' audiences. With a younger, male-centric viewer base for football and basketball, it's a good match for the restaurant to continue (effectively) getting in front of that audience, which makes up a sizable portion of their customer base as well.