During the 1990’s, Burger King introduced the “Burger King Kids Club” and to go with it, the “Burger King Kids Club Gang.” This “gang” was a group of colorfully animated, culturally diverse cartoon kids that would help the restaurant compete with the fast-food giant, McDonalds.
To make the group as appealing and politically correct as they could, advertising executives tried to diversify the group racially and also added a boy named Wheels, who got his name from his wheelchair and apparent love of speed. Wheels was in a wheelchair, but this was no ordinary wheelchair, his was controlled by a joystick and included exhaust pipes coming out of the wheels.
I do not remember how I felt the first time I saw Wheels when I was younger. As a member of the club, I saw the little videos that the characters were in, but I do not think it struck me as odd that Wheels was in a wheelchair. In fact, the way the character is treated, it seems as though he is in the wheelchair of his own volition and only chooses to be in it because he likes the speed and mobility of it. Rather than appearing as though the wheelchair represents some sort of affliction, it becomes the cool choice of a kid who just wants to go fast.
When I tried to remember the names of the other characters, I have to admit that Wheels was the only I could come up with which I suppose is a testament to the skill of the advertisers that created him.
This artifact could be seen as just an advertising play to try to and cover all of the bases, but the timing seems to point to something else. The year 1990 marked the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, an event that could possibly point to why the Burger King marketing executives felt that adding a disabled child to their marketing campaign would be effective. With the addition of Wheels to the gang, Burger King would not only reach a slightly wider audience of children, but they would appear socially aware to the parents who would ultimately decide where those children ate.
Whether anyone with a disability was consulted for his or her take on the campaign may never be known, but it does not appear that Burger King wanted to make any large social statement about disability. Wheels’s ultimate goal was to sell burgers to small children, not open eyes to a largely over-looked group or topic.
A critical eye could easily see the character Wheels as a shameless way to play into the changing times of the early nineties. In their need to appeal to a broader audience, Burger King thought to appeal to every group that they could think of without giving any of those groups any real depth. By doing so, they become pointless stereotypes of little-to-no feeling and of little consequence. Perhaps the character of Wheels did make some children feel better about their own issues, and perhaps he was just a pawn. In any case, the character managed to be out in the public eye without causing any sort of notable controversy. In the end, Wheels and his friends served their purpose in bringing kids and their parents into Burger King restaurants around the world, so he has done his job. One simply has to wonder though if he could have accomplished much more than that.
To make the group as appealing and politically correct as they could, advertising executives tried to diversify the group racially and also added a boy named Wheels, who got his name from his wheelchair and apparent love of speed. Wheels was in a wheelchair, but this was no ordinary wheelchair, his was controlled by a joystick and included exhaust pipes coming out of the wheels.
I do not remember how I felt the first time I saw Wheels when I was younger. As a member of the club, I saw the little videos that the characters were in, but I do not think it struck me as odd that Wheels was in a wheelchair. In fact, the way the character is treated, it seems as though he is in the wheelchair of his own volition and only chooses to be in it because he likes the speed and mobility of it. Rather than appearing as though the wheelchair represents some sort of affliction, it becomes the cool choice of a kid who just wants to go fast.
When I tried to remember the names of the other characters, I have to admit that Wheels was the only I could come up with which I suppose is a testament to the skill of the advertisers that created him.
This artifact could be seen as just an advertising play to try to and cover all of the bases, but the timing seems to point to something else. The year 1990 marked the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, an event that could possibly point to why the Burger King marketing executives felt that adding a disabled child to their marketing campaign would be effective. With the addition of Wheels to the gang, Burger King would not only reach a slightly wider audience of children, but they would appear socially aware to the parents who would ultimately decide where those children ate.
Whether anyone with a disability was consulted for his or her take on the campaign may never be known, but it does not appear that Burger King wanted to make any large social statement about disability. Wheels’s ultimate goal was to sell burgers to small children, not open eyes to a largely over-looked group or topic.
A critical eye could easily see the character Wheels as a shameless way to play into the changing times of the early nineties. In their need to appeal to a broader audience, Burger King thought to appeal to every group that they could think of without giving any of those groups any real depth. By doing so, they become pointless stereotypes of little-to-no feeling and of little consequence. Perhaps the character of Wheels did make some children feel better about their own issues, and perhaps he was just a pawn. In any case, the character managed to be out in the public eye without causing any sort of notable controversy. In the end, Wheels and his friends served their purpose in bringing kids and their parents into Burger King restaurants around the world, so he has done his job. One simply has to wonder though if he could have accomplished much more than that.
2 comments:
Even at a young age I felt it was a bit crass, and a bit pandering. The name Wheels is about as obvious as it gets, and had no real depth of character, and the kid on roller skates probably had as much speed as Wheels himself.
I specifically came to this page because I remember Wheels too, but no other character. My mom and I had a talk about disabilities when I received him as a prize in my kids meal. I only see positive associations with Wheels in your story, only to posit that Burger King could have done more. But they also could have done less and not included him at all. Let’s congratulate BK for making one of the few memorable and positive characters in media who use a wheel chair.
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