7-patty Whopper promo strikes chord7-patty Whopper promo strikes chord

Alan J. Liddle

TOKYO Responding to strong demand, Burger King in Japan has extended its Windows 7 Whopper cross promotion with Microsoft Corp. from seven days to 16, a Microsoft representative said.

Miami-based Burger King, which fields just 15 stores in Japan, according to its Japanese website, marked the Oct. 22 worldwide launch of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system by offering a seven-patty burger.

The first 30 customers per day per store can buy the limited-time offer burger for 777 yen, or about $8.50 in U.S. dollars at recent conversion rates, according to Masaki Iida, who is part of the public relations team for Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft’s division in Japan. Other media reports indicated that after the first 30 sandwiches are sold, consumers who still want a Windows 7 Whopper must pay approximately $15.

Originally scheduled to end Wednesday, Iida said that the sale of 6,000 Windows 7 Whoppers within the first four days of the promotion prompted the restaurant operator to extend the run of the 5.1-inch-tall, 2,102-calorie sandwich through Nov. 6.

Iida said the promotion involving Microsoft Japan and Burger King Japan was intended to “create a Windows 7 buzz among non-information technology [focused] consumers.” A Windows 7 launch party was held Oct. 22 at the Burger King unit in Tokyo’s famed Akihabara electronics retailing district, the Microsoft source said.

Contact Alan J. Liddle at [email protected].