McDonald's advertising

Last updated

McDonald's maintains an extensive advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media such as television, radio and newspaper ads, the company makes significant use of billboards and signage, and sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games. The company also makes coolers of orange drink with their logo available for local events of all kinds. [1] However, television ads remain the primary form of advertisement.

Contents

McDonald's has used 23 different slogans to advertise in the United States, as well as a few other slogans for select countries and regions. [2] At times, it has run into trouble with its campaigns.

History

There have been many McDonald's advertising campaigns and slogans over the years. The company is one of the most prevalent fast food advertisers, especially in the United States, where it spends the most advertising money of any fast-food restaurant and as of 2012 the fifth-more of any advertiser in the country. [3] McDonald's Canada's corporate website states that the commercial campaigns have always focused on the "overall McDonald's experience", rather than just product. [4] The purpose of the image has always been "portraying warmth and a real slice of everyday life". [4] Its TV ads, showing various people engaging in popular activities, usually reflect the season and time period. Finally, rarely in their advertising history have they used negative or comparison ads pertaining to any of their competitors; the ads have always focused on McDonald's alone, one exception being a 2008 billboard advertising the new McCafé espresso. The billboard read "four bucks is dumb", a shot at competitor Starbucks. [5]

Controversies

In 1996, the British adult comic magazine Viz accused McDonald's of plagiarizing the name and format of its longstanding Top Tips feature, in which readers offer sarcastic tips. McDonald's had created an advertising campaign of the same name, which suggested the Top Tips (and then the alternative—save money by going to McDonald's). Some of the similarities were almost word-for-word:[ citation needed ]

Save a fortune on laundry bills. Give your dirty shirts to Oxfam. They will wash and iron them, and then you can buy them back for 50p.

—Viz Top Tip, published May 1989.[ citation needed ]

Save a fortune on laundry bills. Give your dirty shirts to a second-hand shop. They will wash and iron them, and then you can buy them back for 50p.

—McDonald's advert, 1996.[ citation needed ]

The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which was donated to the BBC's charity Comic Relief. However, many Viz readers believed that the comic had given permission for their use, leading to Top Tips submissions such as: "Geordie magazine editors. Continue paying your mortgage and buying expensive train sets ... by simply licensing the Top Tips concept to a multinational burger corporation."[ citation needed ]

In 2003, a ruling by the UK Advertising Standards Authority determined that the corporation had acted in breach of the codes of practice in describing how its French fries were prepared. A McDonald's print ad stated that "after selecting certain potatoes" "we peel them, slice them, fry them and that's it." It showed a picture of a potato in a McDonald's fries box. In fact the product was sliced, pre-fried, sometimes had dextrose added, was then frozen, shipped, and re-fried and then had salt added. [6]

In 2013, McDonald's encountered controversy around negative racial stereotypes when the fast-food restaurant tested one of its ads in Germany for the resident Mexican population. The title of the commercial was Los Wochos, a made-up word for the Spanish translation of the word 'week' (Woche) in German. The commercial went on to say, "When you turn ketchup into 'salsa picante', your buddy into a 'muchacho' and your burger into 'chili con carne', that means The Wochos are here. Olé." The problem was that not all of these terms are of Mexican origin; rather, "olé" is a typical expression of southern Spain, while the Latin Times claimed that chili con carne is a Texan dish. [7]

In 2015, McDonald's met further controversy around Mexican stereotypes when it attempted to promote its McBurrito in Mexico. The advertisement was a picture of the burrito with the words, "Tamales are a thing of the past. McBurrito Mexicana also comes wrapped." The ad was revealed just a day after la Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas, 2 February), a holiday many celebrate with eating tamales, a traditional Mexican dish eaten during most holidays. The Tex-Mex burrito was perceived by many as an insult to one of Mexico's most traditional and popular meals. [8]

In 2019, McDonald's pulled out of an advertisement deal with an American comedy podcast, Your Mom's House podcast. The reason cited for ending the deal was due to a portion of the podcast being dedicated to clips honoring, "Cool Guys". The primary clip that provoked McDonald's, now known as the "Uncle Terry" clip, showing a nude man reviewing and using various sex toys to completion. Following the initial controversy, McDonald's garnered outrage from various LGBTQIA+ groups for not being inclusive enough to sexually explorative demographics. This outrage resulted in McDonald's returning the advertisement deal to Your Mom's House podcast after only a few weeks. [9]

Also in 2019, McDonald's Portugal promoted a sundae for Halloween with advertising that dubbed it "Sundae Bloody Sundae". [10] This generated controversy on social networks in the British-Irish territories due to the name's connotation with the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1972. McDonald's issued an apology for "any offense or distress" and withdrew its promotions. [11] "Bloody Sunday" is a name that commemorates the day in 1972 on which 26 unarmed protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, were shot by British soldiers during "the Troubles", a domestic conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. [12] [13] [14] This resulted in 14 deaths. McDonald's said it was intended as a local promotion of Halloween and not intended to insult anyone. [12]

Racial diversity

In the 1970s, McDonald's began to diversify their target audience towards the back end of the civil rights movement at the time. To modern audiences, the advertising style in this given campaign appears stereotypical and is a clear example of tokenism. However, at the time it was seen as a huge step forward in terms of overcoming racial issues.[ improper synthesis? ]

In order to appeal to African-American people, McDonald's exclusively used images of African-American people enjoying a McDonald's meal in their ads. They also adopted linguistic features which were "typical" in that particular culture, such as "g-dropping" for example "Makin' it" or "Dinnertimin'". [15] Additionally, McDonald's also introduced the "Get Down" campaign which was a popular dance move, get down, in the African American culture at the time.

As McDonald's was mainly a "white-dominated" agency at the time, it seemed that even though they were attempted to make good with these ad campaigns, they only really achieved appearing "racially naive" and also heavily relied on fraught stereotypes rather than actual information (Charlton McIlwain 2015).[ incomplete short citation ] [15] Another notion, coined by Tom Burrell (2003:240)[ incomplete short citation ], [16] was "positive realism" which "depicted African-Americans using consumer products in a manner that was authentic and relevant". This term is thought to have influenced and encouraged the depiction of African-Americans in advertising.

Current campaign

McDonald's advertising

I'm lovin' it is a branding campaign by McDonald's Corporation. It was created by Heye & Partner, McDonald's agency based in Unterhaching, Germany, near Munich, and a member of the DDB Worldwide Communications Group. It was the company's first global advertising campaign and was unveiled in Chicago on June 12, 2003, and launched in Munich on September 2, 2003, under the German title ich liebe es. This is only used in Germany; in Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, the English slogan is used. The English part of the campaign was launched in the UK on September 17, 2003, and in Australia and the United States on September 21, 2003, with the music of Tom Batoy and Franco Tortora (Mona Davis Music) and vocals by Justin Timberlake, in which the slogan appears. The motion logo at the time (featuring the "M" zooming out to a 5-note jingle based on the song's "ba da ba ba ba" lyric) and the "I'm lovin' it" (in different languages, usually in English) zooming to the "M", leaving a trail) was produced by using Adobe After Effects and Adobe InDesign. Also, by September 3, 2003, McDonald's selected more than 30 people to appear in new packaging for McDonald's products, starting with a photoshoot taking place from September 3, 2003, until November 2003. They unveiled new "I'm lovin' it"–themed packaging on December 8, 2003, and rolled it out worldwide throughout 2004 with the final delivery date being November 20, 2004. In January 2007, after a public casting call which received 15,000 submissions, McDonald's selected 24 people to appear as part of the campaign. [17] Images of those chosen, taken from September to December 2006, who had submitted a story and digital photograph which "captured ... themes of inspiration, passion and fun" appeared on McDonald's paper bags and cups worldwide.

In early 2008, McDonald's underwent the first phase of their new image and slogan: "What we're made of." This was to promote how McDonald's products are made. Packaging was tweaked a little to feature this new slogan. In November 2008, McDonald's introduced new packaging, eliminating the previous design stated above (except for the Philippines and a few countries where the previous design is used in tandem with newer packaging, and in Fiji where the previous design is still current) with new, inspirational messages, the "I'm lovin it" slogan (appearing only once on most packages). McDonald's also updated their menu boards with darker, yet warmer colors, more realistic photos of the products featured on plates and the drinks in glasses. From 2009 to 2010, McDonald's introduced new packaging worldwide. As of 2017, McDonald's continues to have the "I'm lovin it" slogan appear on most all of its product packaging, and has made no major announcement that the company will use any other slogan exclusively in place of this one any time in the near future. The 5-note jingle from 2003 continues to be used in most McDonald's advertising to this day in the form of a whistled version.

In April 2024, the company debuted plain yellow and red billboards in the Netherlands, the world's first that smell like McDonald's. [18]

Promotional partners

Cross promotions

Celebrity spokespeople

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonaldland</span> Fast food-themed media franchise and fictional world

McDonaldland is a McDonald's media franchise and the fictional fantasy world inhabited by Ronald McDonald and his friends. Starting with the creation of Ronald McDonald in 1963, it is primarily developed and published by McDonald's. Initial attempts to expand the McDonaldland universe by marketing agency Needham, Harper & Steers were seemingly retconned due to legal issues, but ongoing aspects were expanded in McDonald's projects in collaboration with Data East, Virgin Interactive, Treasure, SEGA, and Klasky Csupo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television advertisement</span> Paid commercial segment on television

A television advertisement is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. Advertisers and marketers may refer to television commercials as TVCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where's the beef?</span> 1984 American advertising slogan

"Where's the beef?" is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada, introduced as a slogan for the fast food chain Wendy's in 1984. Since then it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Got Milk?</span> American advertising campaign

Got Milk? is an American advertising campaign on television and YouTube encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products. Created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Milk Processor Board in 1993, it was later licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers. It was launched in 1993 by the "Aaron Burr" television commercial, directed by Michael Bay. The national campaign, run by MilkPEP began to add the "got milk?" logo to its "Milk Mustache" ads in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whopper</span> Hamburger sold at Burger King and Hungry Jacks

The Whopper is the signature hamburger and an associated product line sold by the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's. Introduced in 1957, the hamburger has undergone several reformulations, including changes to portion size and bread used. The hamburger is well known in the fast food industry, with Burger King advertising itself as "the Home of the Whopper" and naming its kiosk stores the BK Whopper Bar. In response to the Whopper, Burger King's competitors have developed similar products designed to compete against it.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. According to Charity Navigator, the organization works for "compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Taco</span> American fast food restaurant chain

Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast-food restaurant chain that specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine, as well as American foods such as burgers, fries and shakes. Del Taco is led by Brand President Tom Rose, and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. On December 6, 2021, Jack in the Box announced it was acquiring Del Taco for $12.51 per share. The acquisition was finalized in March 2022. Del Taco has approximately 600 locations in 16 US states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King (mascot)</span> Mascot of American food chain Burger King

The Burger King is a king character used as the primary mascot for the fast-food restaurant chain of the same name. The first iteration of the Burger King was part of a sign at the first Burger King restaurant in Miami, Florida, in 1955. Later signs showed the King sitting on a "burger throne" as well as atop the BK sign while holding a beverage. In the early 1970s, Burger King started using a small and animated version of the King in its children's advertising, voiced by Allen Swift. In 1976, the original animated King was replaced by the "Marvelous Magical Burger King" which was a red-bearded and Tudor-era king who ruled the Burger King Kingdom and performed magic tricks that were mostly sleight-of-hand but sometimes relied on camera tricks or involved his "Magic Ring" which could summon copious amounts of food. The Burger King Kingdom advertisements were discontinued in the late 1980s in favor of the BK Kids Club Gang and other advertising programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonald's</span> American fast food restaurant corporation

McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger stand and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise agent and, in 1961, bought out the McDonald brothers. Previously headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, it moved to nearby Chicago in June 2018. McDonald's is also a real estate company through its ownership of around 70% of restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of McDonald's</span>

The American restaurant chain McDonald's has been criticised for numerous aspects of its business, including the health effects of its products, its treatment of employees, the environmental impact of its operations, and other business practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast food advertising</span> Promotion for fast food

Fast food advertising promotes fast food products and utilizes numerous aspects to reach out to the public.

Since it was founded in 1954, international fast food chain Burger King has employed many advertising programs. During the 1970s, its advertisements included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well-known and parodied slogans, such as Have it your way and It takes two hands to handle a Whopper. From the early 1980s until approximately 2002, Burger King engaged a series of advertising agencies that produced many unsuccessful slogans and programs, including its least successful campaign, Where's Herb?.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Brown's</span> Canadian fast food restaurant chain

Mary Brown's Chicken, is a Canadian fast food restaurant with approximately 300 locations across Canada. The chain specializes in fried chicken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Justified World Tour</span> 2003–04 concert tour by Justin Timberlake

The Justified World Tour was the debut solo concert tour by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake. The tour showcased material his debut studio album, Justified (2002).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big N' Tasty</span> Hamburger sold by McDonalds

The Big N’ Tasty is a hamburger sold by the international fast food chain McDonald's. It is designed to compete with the Whopper sandwich. A similar variation called the Big Tasty, without the center "N'", which was first released in Saudi Arabia, is sold outside the United States in parts of the United Kingdom, Europe, South America, South Africa, The Middle East, and Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl's Jr.</span> American multinational fast food chain

Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast-food restaurant chain owned by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., who also owns Hardee's, with franchisees in North and South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King grilled chicken sandwiches</span> Fast food items

The fast-food restaurant chain Burger King was the first major fast food chain to introduce a grilled chicken burger to the marketplace, in 1990, six months before Wendy's and four years before McDonald's. Since then, Burger King, and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's have offered a variety of grilled chicken burgers, as have Wendy's and McDonald's.

References

  1. ↑ Gael Fashingbauer Cooper (September 9, 2011). "McDonald's orange drink". Gen X-Tinct. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  2. ↑ "McDonald's slogans used around the world, past and present". Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  3. ↑ Meet America's 10 biggest advertisers. AdAge. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Marketing". McDonald's Canada. Archived from the original on December 22, 2005.
  5. ↑ "Starbucks won't slug it out in ad wars", by Andrea James, Seattle Post-Intelligencer , December 10, 2008 RetrievedApril 14, 2017.
  6. ↑ "End of story for one fast food ad". Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on October 18, 2006.
  7. ↑ Mallen, Patricia Rey. "McDonald's Racist Ad: 'Los Wochos' Offends Mexican Community in Germany", Latin Times , 2 May 2013. 19 February 2017.
  8. ↑ Woolf, Nicky. "McDonald's eats its words after tamales Facebook ad sparks backlash in Mexico", The Guardian , 4 February 2015. RetrievedDecember 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ Your Mom's House podcast, Ep. 505 w/ Theo Von, June 26, 2019 on YouTube [ time needed ][ better source needed ]
  10. ↑ Jones, Sam (October 31, 2019). "McDonald's Portugal apologises for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' ads". The Guardian . Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ "McDonald's apologises for 'Sunday Bloody Sundae' campaign". Sky News . October 31, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Sullivan, Rory (November 1, 2019). "McDonald's apologizes for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' ad". CNN . Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ Melaugh, Martin; Lynn, Brendan. "Glossary of Terms on Northern Ireland Conflict". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Ulster University. The term 'the Troubles' is a euphemism used by people in Ireland for the present conflict. The term has been used before to describe other periods of Irish history. On the CAIN web site the terms 'Northern Ireland conflict' and 'the Troubles', are used interchangeably.
  14. ↑ McEvoy, Joanne (2008). The politics of Northern Ireland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 1. ISBN   978-0-7486-2501-7. OCLC   232570935. The Northern Ireland conflict, known locally as 'the Troubles', endured for three decades and claimed the lives of more than 3,500 people.
  15. 1 2 Cruz, Lenika. "'Dinnertimin' and 'No Tipping': How Advertisers Targeted Black Consumers in the 1970s". The Atlantic . Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  16. ↑ MacDonough, J., Egolf, K., & Reid, J. (2003). The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising (1st ed.). New York, [etc.]: Fitzroy Dearborn.[ page needed ]
  17. ↑ "McDonald's press release". Archived from the original on November 1, 2007.
  18. ↑ "'Smells like McDonald's': Fast-food chain debuts 'world's first' scented billboard". NBC Bay Area . April 12, 2024. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Daytona 500 champ gets McDonald's sponsorship". Fox News. February 25, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  20. ↑ "McDonald's set to race with Kyle Larson, No. 42 team in 2019". Chip Ganassi Racing . NASCAR. January 18, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  21. ↑ Estrada, Chris (December 14, 2020). "23XI Racing reveals 'founding partners' for 2021 season". NBC Sports . Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  22. ↑ "McDonald's renews as FIFA World Cup Sponsor until 2014". FIFA.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014
  23. ↑ QSRweb.com (November 30, 2012). "McDonald's named official sponsor of the NFL". Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  24. ↑ Dewey, Caitlin (February 9, 2018). "Olympic athletes love McDonald's. But its role in PyeongChang will be the smallest in decades". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on June 4, 2018.
  25. ↑ Payne, Marissa (June 16, 2017). "McDonald's ends four-decade Olympics sponsorship". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on January 13, 2019.
  26. ↑ "McDonald's on a Mission to Bin UK Litterers for Good". www.mcdonalds.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  27. ↑ Evans, Rebekah (October 12, 2021). "McDonald's unveils new hack to earn money – Britons may secure up to £10,000". Daily Express . London. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  28. ↑ McDonald's UK | No Packaging Drive-Thru | Bin Your Litter on YouTube [ better source needed ]
  29. ↑ Saxena, Jaya (October 6, 2020). "McDonald's Partners With J Balvin Following the Huge Success of the Travis Scott Meal". Eater . Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  30. ↑ Nelson, Dustin (November 11, 2021). "McDonald's New Mariah Carey Menu Features 12 Days of Free Food". Thrillist . Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  31. ↑ Ju, Shirley (September 9, 2020). "Travis Scott McDonald's Deal Marks First Celebrity Meal Since Michael Jordan in 1992". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  32. ↑ Archived October 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.