Where does bad TV advertising come from?
It’s a question McDonald’s and their agency Leo Burnett are forcing people to ask, in response to a series of 25 spots featuring Max Greenfield, one of the stars of Fox’s TV show “New Girl.”
https://youtu.be/uzgM-C6T_3U
I can’t recall the last time I disliked a campaign as much.
McDonald’s is introducing a new line up of Sirloin Third Pound burgers to compete with Carl’s Jr. and maybe even Applebee’s. Yet, the focus here is on Max, not the meat, which is too bad.
According to Chicago Business, Joel Yashinsky, VP-marketing at McDonald’s, said that the idea was to take what’s typically a social-media strategy and employ it in traditional advertising.
“We’ve been asking our agency partners to be innovative, taking learnings from a social and digital standpoint and bringing them to traditional work. We’re looking for new and innovative ways to approach traditional media, particularly TV.”
It appears that saving money was one of the “new and innovative ways” the team decided to pursue. McDonald’s shot all 25 spots featuring Max in one day, all with the same setting and background. It shows. To make this idea work, you would need to have brilliant writing and even better acting. This faux-digital campaign has neither.
Thankfully, all is not lost. The fast feeder does know how to make a spot with taste appeal. Here it is:
https://youtu.be/Kke5iZerpOY
