News

Burger King wishes customers 'un-sweet' dreams this Halloween

October 18, 2018

In  one of the more offbeat marketing pitches in the QSR kingdom, Burger King is trying to tempt customers to buy its Nightmare King LTO sandwich this Halloween season by promising it will deliver nightmares to those who eat it. 

The seemingly innocuous sandwich features a quarter-pound burger, fried chicken filet, American cheese, bacon, mayonnaise,and onions on a green bun. Yes, green. 

To test whether the nightmares promised by the chain actually occur, a news release said that the chain partnered with Paramount Trials and Florida Sleep & Neuro Diagnostic Services and Goldforest Inc., to monitor 100 people's sleep over 10 nights after they ate the sandwich at bedtime each night.

Among these test sleepers, one said she turned into a snake and another said aliens attacked his boat in his dream. 

"According to previous studies, 4 percent of the population experiences nightmares in any given night," said somnologist and lead study physician Jose Gabriel Medina. "But, after eating the Nightmare King, the data obtained from the study indicated that the incidence of nightmares increased by 3.5 times."

Medina said the proteins and cheese in the sandwich interrupted REM sleep cycles, the period in which most people dream. Bottom line: Customers looking for nightmare-prone sleep can get the $6.39 burgers starting Oct. 22.