---
title: "QR codes are ideal for fan engagement – until they lead to porn"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/170ac601-6581-411a-b43d-2e2440d08735
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/qr-codes-are-ideal-for-fan-engagement-until-they-lead-to-porn-1888
category: "General"
published: 2015-06-22T19:14:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:16:08.349Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/8d777f385d3dfec8815d20f7496026dc9514.png
---

# QR codes are ideal for fan engagement – until they lead to porn

**TL;DR:** QR codes can be used for fan engagement, but may lead to unintended consequences, such as sending customers to porn websites, as seen in the case of Heinz ketchup. Heinz apologized after a customer was sent to a camgirl site after scanning a QR code on a bottle of their ketchup.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-06-22. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/qr-codes-are-ideal-for-fan-engagement-until-they-lead-to-porn-1888).*

## Story

QR codes are a fun, easy way for brands to engage consumers both off and on the Internet. They’re also capable of sending unsuspecting customers to porn websites.

Just ask Daniel Korell, a German gentleman who was sent to camgirl site Fundorado after scanning a QR code on a bottle of Heinz ketchup (if you’re not sure what a “camgirl site” is, take my advice and look it up when you’re *out* of the office).

According to Gawker, after Korell made Heinz aware of where the QR code sent him, the company apologized, saying “we really regret the event very much.”

Let this be a lesson to every franchise brand out there: If the ketchup kings at Heinz can fall victim to a bad link, you can too.

Or, to put it in simpler terms: Engaging with fans online? Good! Sending said fans to pornographic websites? Bad!

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- HEINZ (company)
- fan engagement (topic)
- qr codes (topic)
- unintended consequences (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/qr-codes-are-ideal-for-fan-engagement-until-they-lead-to-porn-1888). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/170ac601-6581-411a-b43d-2e2440d08735).