In hopes of making a big splash, on Monday morning Burger King built the world's largest aluminum sculpture in the shape of a crown and sailed it on a barge to the Statue of Liberty. The stunt, which also involved the Miami-headquartered fast food chain presenting the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island foundation with a $125,000 donation, was all part of the launch of a new initiative for children. The BK Crown program revolves around kids meals that come with wearable cardboard crowns, so it was only natural Burger King chose to build an enormous head piece for the promotion.
The crown, which was certified by a Guinness World Records adjudicator on Staten Island before its voyage in the harbor, measured 60 feet in circumference and 15 feet tall and weighed in at more than 1,000 pounds. Grand Central Marketing produced the vast metal form, using nine 114-pound panels and 640 rivets.
The BK Crown program isn't all about enticing kids with Burger King's brand of grub—there's a charity component to the concept, too. To help children build awareness of social causes, the restaurant company established a donation fund for a selection of partner organizations dedicated to education, wildlife conservation, and environmental preservation. Burger King is inviting kids to vote for their favorite on a dedicated Web site. Burger King will then allocate the funds based on the number of votes each charity receives. The philanthropic institutions that will benefit from the program are the Wildlife Conservation Society, the National Parks Conservation Association, DonorsChoose.org, and the Have it Your Way Foundation.
