Digital Bulletin

Burger King US has dropped its Whopper Sacrifice campaign on Facebook after the social networking site demanded it be altered, citing a violation of its privacy policy.

The promotion, which Burger King launched last week, rewarded Facebook users with a free Whopper coupon if they dumped 10 Facebook friends.

Usually when a friend is removed on Facebook, no announcement is made, however the Whopper Sacrifice application created an update to inform the deleted friend that they had been "sacrificed for a free Whopper".

Facebook objected to the de-friending notification on the grounds that it would disrupt users' privacy expectations.

A Facebook spokesperson said: "We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications follow users' expectations of privacy. 

"This application facilitated activity that ran counter to user privacy by notifying people when a user removes a friend. We have reached out to the developer with suggested solutions."

However, Burger King decided to pull the campaign rather than continue the application with restrictions.

A Burger King spokesperson said: "While Facebook was a great sport, they did ask for changes that would have resulted in a different approach to our application, counter to what we developed. 

"Ultimately, based on philosophical differences, we decided to conclude the campaign and chose to 'sacrifice' the application." 

The Whopper Sacrifice website now reads: "Whopper Sacrifice has been sacrificed." 

The campaign was created by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which raised controversy with its Whopper Virgins and hamburger scented cologne ads last month.

A total of 233,906 Facebook users found themselves "de-friended" in the name of a hamburger before Facebook requested the application by changed