BK Launches Chicken Band

Crispin Porter & Bogusky is behind yet another poultry-based viral effort for Burger King. The fast food chain is launching and promoting its own teen-targeted metal group, through both TV spots and a Web site.

The band is Coq Roq. The gimmick: chicken masks and poultry-themed songs with names like “Bob Your Head” and “Cross the Road.” Lyrics are sprinkled with references to BK’s new chicken fries, which “rebel against convention,” according to a company statement.

The group’s Web site offers up a multimedia surround view of the branded band. Have-it-your-ways songs come in streaming, MP3 and mobile ringtone formats. Music video-style ads for the band will air on network and cable TV, including SpikeTV, MTV and VH1. A URL for the site appears at the end of the spots.

The Web site has profiles on the band members, who have names like Fowl Mouth and Free Range.

It remains to be seen whether teens can learn to love a metal band that exists solely to promote fast food. If an early look at the site’s message board’s is an indication, prospects are slim for a large Coq Roq fan base. Initial posts late Tuesday morning mostly consist of metal fans bashing Burger King for ripping off another band, Slipknot, the mask-wearing metal group to whom Coq Roq’s members do bear a striking resemblance.

An hour later, those comments had been removed by a moderator.