Burger King pushing Amsterdam meat advert ban with veggie lookalike grilled patty

Following the ban on meat advertising, Burger King’s burger ads reportedly still appear across Amsterdam. However, on closer inspection, one may notice that the burgers are labeled as “suitable for vegetarians.”

The campaign has not been received positively by the Partij voor de Dieren. “This is misleading,” said Amsterdam faction leader Anke Bakker in an interview with RTL. “Cleverly conceived, but this is very unclear and therefore cannot become the standard.”

“We will ensure this is not permitted. It must be clearly vegetarian,” Bakker added.

Advertising for meat, air travel vacations, cruises, and conventional gasoline-powered cars has been banned in Amsterdam since May 1.

Bakker points to the General Municipal Ordinance (APV) of the City of Amsterdam. It states that the ban applies to advertising products that, based on appearance, name, or other characteristics, clearly consist wholly or partly of dead animals intended for consumption.

“So it does not say you can simply continue doing what you always did, but with nearly unreadable fine print and a disclaimer underneath.”

A transitional adjustment period still applies this year. The municipality will only begin enforcement and issuing fines starting January 1, 2027.