Cape Town - International fast food company Burger King South Africa has taken to social media to ask South Africans to rally behind them on their quest for South African citizenship.
In a tweet to the Department of Home Affairs on Wednesday, the brand asked “how many RTs to become a citizen?” using the popular “how many RTs for” trade exchange method.
“Fam, we’ve been here since 2013 and feel like it’s time to take our relationship with the country to the next level, a very official level. @HomeAffairsSA how many RTs to become a citizen? #MakeBKMoreSA,” the tweet read.
Fam, we’ve been here since 2013 and feel like it’s time to take our relationship with the country to the next level – a very official level. @HomeAffairsSA how many RTs to become a citizen? #MakeBKMoreSA 🍔 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/FmzLut2Rqb
— BURGER KING® South Africa (@BurgerKingZA) September 2, 2020
The company said it is serious about cementing its place in SA, that it will be embarking on a campaign to further entrench its footprint in the country.
Juan Klopper, chief operating officer at Burger King South Africa, said the brand now needs the help of its fans. “With Heritage Day just around the corner on September 24, we need as many retweets as possible so that Home Affairs can see how serious we are about our relationship and commitment to South Africa,” he said.
While they wait for Home Affairs to respond, the brand is also asking fans to teach them unique South Africanisms to help solidify their citizenship.
“South African society has one of the most diverse and vibrant cultures in the world. Being South African means always making space for one more, ending off your sentence with ‘shem’, knowing a guy that knows a guy and understanding the difference between ‘just now’ and ‘now now’,” said Ezelna Jones, Burger King’s marketing executive.
“It means that everyone’s either your auntie, bhuti (brother), sister or uncle and above all else that you value humour and ingenuity. These are the unique qualities we need to be able to demonstrate and we need the help of our fans to understand them all.”
The company further said it has chosen the country’s nation building month to ask South Africans to help #MakeBKMoreSA.
“We are asking South Africans to suggest as many locally-inspired challenges as possible, to help bring Burger King even closer with South Africans. We’re happy to learn. Want us to challenge Minister/foodie Tito Mboweni to a cook off, we’ll do it.
"Ask us to turn our Extra Long Chilli Cheese Sandwich into a Gatbsy? We’ll try. Anything you can think of that shouts proudly and loudly South African and we’ll give it a go, whatever it takes to call SA home,” Jones added.
Having only been in South Africa since May 2013, Klopper said Burger King is in awe of how quickly South Africans have accepted the brand into their hearts.
“We now want to show our gratitude by embracing and becoming a part of this country’s warm culture,” he said.
- African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Naomi Mackay