Burger King apologises for Russian promotion offering free burgers to women who get pregnant by World Cup stars

Burger King Russia has apologised after it ran a marketing campaign offering women a lifetime supply of free meals if they got pregnant by football stars playing at the World Cup.

The bizarre promotion was posted on a Russian social media website by Burger King on Tuesday, before being deleted after a public backlash.

The fast food chain said it would give 3m roubles (£36,000) and free whopper burgers for life to women who became pregnant with the child of a World Cup star.

“Women who manage to get the best football genes will promote the Russian team’s success for generations to come,” the advert said.

Advertising in Russia has been criticised for playing on sexist stereotypes about women, especially round male dominated sporting events like the World Cup.

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In an apology on Russian social media site VKontakte, Burger King Russia said: “We offer apologies for the announcement we made. It was too offensive.”

In a statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Burger King added: “We are sorry about the clearly offensive promotion that the team in Russia launched online.

“The offer does not reflect our brand or our values and we are taking steps to ensure this type of activity does not happen again.”