Almost every company seems to have some recognition of Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community during the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. But skeptics complain that June has become a time for “rainbow washing,” which Urban Dictionary defines as “The act of using or adding rainbow colors and/or imagery to advertising, apparel, accessories, landmarks, et cetera, in order to indicate progressive support for LGBTQ equality (and earn consumer credibility)—but with a minimum of effort or pragmatic result. (Akin to ‘green-washing’ with environmental issues and ‘pink-washing’ with breast cancer.)”

Burger King has done worse. To promote a Whopper in Austria, the company’s ad agency suggested selling "two equal buns"—either two tops or two bottoms. Some found the sexual reference funny, but others were offended, particularly because Burger King used the joke only for financial gain. Unlike other brands, the company didn’t include, for example, a donation to an LGBTQ+ organization.

The agency sent an apology to AdAge: “We at Jung von Matt Donau are proud of our queer community within our agency. Unfortunately, we still messed up and didn’t check well enough with community members on different interpretations of the ‘Pride Whopper.’ That’s on us.” The group also said, “we’ve learned our lessons and will include experts on communicating with the LGBTQ community for future work as promoting equal love and equal rights will still be a priority for us.”

The company takes responsibility, but a good apology includes a bit more, for example, an understanding of the impact and reparations or compensation. AdAge didn’t publish the apology in full, but business communication students could rewrite the response to demonstrate more vulnerability, humility, and compassion. In addition, Burger King has remained quiet while the ad agency took all the blame.