After the initial AI-powered sorting of entries, a panel of expert judges will review the ideas and pick an entry from each category. The judges will score the entries based on three criteria: feasibility, innovation, and popularity. If you want to win, your toppings need to be easy for Burger King to purchase and put into production while still being creative. The company is also looking for concepts that will wow the majority of its customer base, too.
Burger King has realized that many MDW entries may be the same or similar to the three contenders selected by the judges. So the next hurdle is a random drawing that will be done with three contenders along with any similar ideas to determine the finalists. The three finalists will then be flown to Miami, FL on an all-expenses paid trip to work with the Burger King culinary team to develop and test their version of the Whopper.
Beginning in November 2024, the public will vote for their favorite MDW idea — and the Whopper with the most public votes wins the $1 million prize. So the odds may not be in your favor, but there’s still a chance you could make your dream edition Whopper a reality. At the very least, you can make your idea come true in virtual reality: As part of the contest, you can see an AI-generated version of each of your Whopper submissions, and even share these images if you like.