Burger King aired the most annoying commercial in history this week: A shrieking fast food employee waving a hamburger and who says, “Okay Google, what is a Whopper burger?”
The TV ad is insufferable, but it could have been infinitely worse for the millions of Americans who own a Google Home device. For them, the employee’s words were intended to activate their device and prompt it to define a Whopper.
Fortunately, Google stepped in to prevent the commercial, which aired on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday, from setting off what the New York Times‘ called “corporate warfare in the living room.”
In retrospect, the whole episode was likely a stunt to gin up free publicity for Burger King. But it also raises the question of what’s to stop another company from trying the same thing—using a TV or radio ad to force a Google Home or an Echo (Amazon’s competing device) to be part of their marketing campaign.
The answer, from a legal perspective, appears to be that nothing can stop them.
