February 27, 2004

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What drugs do the marketing people at McDonalds take? Their I'm lovin' it campaign seems to have been created by Martians living in isolation. Which accurately describes many advertising people anyway - except my sister-in-law. She's great. But McDonalds really make me wonder. How many advertising slogans can you think of with two apostrophes, let alone the strange contraction of loving into lovin'? As an attempt to win over the young adult/hip/cool crowd it reeks of trying too hard. In the meantime the mainstay of fast food firms, families with kids, are ignored. The stores themselves make great efforts to cater and pander to younger kids. But the marketing is aimed at the one group most likely to not go or even be interested in fast food outside old age pensioners - young adults.

To young adults McDonalds represents everything they hate. It is a multinational, it is homogenous fried junk food (despite recent attempts to add some "health food" to the menu), it is American imperialism, it is low wage jobs, it is exploitation of farmers and so on. Now while some of that is not actually true, that is how McDonalds is perceived by this age group, especially the middle class ones portrayed in the ads. And using one set of ads and one theme right around the world may save them a fortune but it simply re-enforces the message that McDonalds is the same around the world, rather than localising the company in each country it operates. It seems to violate not just laws of marketing, but common sense.

"I'm lovin' it" isn't going to turn them around.

posted by Simon on 02.27.04 at 10:43 AM in the




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Comments:

Face it dude. You are too old to get it. You are not in their target market. Just accept that there is a multi-national company out there not interested in you.

posted by: paul on 02.27.04 at 10:58 AM [permalink]

yum yum gotta be lovin' the fries though, and big macs, and the apple pies are great too. yes it's everything you say simon, but i still can't resist a good ol' Mcd's once in a while. lovin' it? damn right. from aaron, 28, middle class.

posted by: aaron on 02.27.04 at 11:49 AM [permalink]

Paul got it right. You may not be loving it, however a younger generation is most definitely "luh-vin' it".

McD's will be around as long as children, college students who have just been through a bag of the wacky tabaccy, and exhasperated parents on long car trips with their children.

They maybe aren't lovin' it, but they're settlin' for it, anyway.

posted by: Helen on 02.27.04 at 03:02 PM [permalink]

I fear you all misunderstand - personally I love the place. In fact many an afternoon I can be found enjoying some of their products (the chocolate sundae in front of my right now, for example).

What I'm saying is their targetting the wrong crowd.

posted by: Simon on 02.27.04 at 03:44 PM [permalink]

I agree, the campaign is the result of some serious mismarketing on the part of MD's. By contrast (and I don;t know if this was global) the new KFC campaign is pitched just right - funky look and sound to attract young funky people (or young people who like to think they're funky)

But with regard to your observations about the views & opinions of MD's target audience - I fear you credit them with too high a level of social awareness. I believe the young people who do think MD's are a 'bad' multinational with little regard for the quality of life of its workers and the environment, etc. are in the minority. And within that minority only a few will actually boycott the resteraunts.

Ironically, the I'm lovin' it campaign may not be very effective within the intended target audience but it is certainly getting the company name mentioned in a wide cross section of different markets and as they say - there's no such thing as bad publicity.

posted by: Robert on 02.27.04 at 07:38 PM [permalink]

I don't know about being mis-targeted. They may be trying to hook the younger hip crowd, and feel secure that their steady customers (families, etc) will continue to come in, despite the ads not directed towards them.

It wouldn't surprise me if their next campaign went back to the sweetness and light pap that they run through once occasionally.

posted by: Ted on 02.27.04 at 11:01 PM [permalink]

Anti-globalists are hypocrites. They are wearing their Reeboks, listening to Corporate Rock on their Sony's, living and traveling off their father's bank credit card or Amex card. And protesting the very system that allows them to protest in the first place. Democratic free market capitalism. And of course they are eating McD's.

posted by: kennycan on 03.02.04 at 04:47 PM [permalink]




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