The soccer star and model becomes the fantasy figure of both a check-out assistant and her male manager when he appears at the counter of a BK diner in the ad.

The new campaign hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this week (beg02Apr12) when a promo featuring Mary J. Blige singing about Burger King's new fried chicken menu item was released online prematurely.

Blige and the chain's bosses were grilled by officials at African-American rights groups, who accused them of ""buffoonery"" and playing to the stereotypes of black people.

Blige has since responded, insisting the online ad - which has since been pulled - was not as it had been pitched to her.

Burger King bosses apologised to the singer and her fans and confirmed the ad was unfinished and should not have been made available on the Internet.

Salma Hayek also appears in the ad campaign.