Burger King
2020
Print
Blank Whopper
HOW APPLIED
Removes the brand’s most recognizable visual elements so viewers mentally ‘fill in’ the Whopper.
THE MISSING PIECE
MECHANISM
Leave something out that the audience must fill in, creating ownership of the idea.
THE QUESTION
"What can we leave out that makes the audience complete the thought?"
PROCESS
Work through these questions to generate ideas:
- What's obvious enough to omit?
- What headline word can disappear while meaning survives?
- What visual element can vanish while the message remains?
- What's more powerful unsaid?
EXAMPLES
Ideas in this space might look like:
- A puzzle with one piece floating away—the viewer completes the metaphor
- A headline with a key word removed that the brain fills in
- A visual sequence missing the final frame
HOW IT WORKS
"What can we leave out that makes the audience complete the thought?"
REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
8"What can we leave out that makes the audience complete the thought?"
Heinz
2021
Print
It’s not the same without the H
HOW APPLIED
Deletes a key letter from Heinz/Heinz products so the audience completes the missing piece to restore meaning.
Missing Children
2008
Print
The Invisible Flyer
HOW APPLIED
Prints the appeal with missing/vanishing information so viewers must ‘complete’ what’s absent by engaging closely.
