McDonald's Archives - Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Meg Strange

Senior Account Executive

Jun. 07, 2018

Trending from G/L: The Big Mac’s Big Birthday Campaign

Advertising

Do you remember your first Big Mac? I can’t say that I do, but depending on who you ask, others may have an answer that dates back half a century! That’s right, the Big Mac, the Mac Daddy, the OG ultimate 100% beef burger, is 50 years old this year.

If I dig into my own mental archives, I remember a period between the ages of 3 and 5 during which the Big Mac was my McDonald’s meal of choice. Why settle for a measly single-patty hamburger or five little nuggets when you can have the real deal: two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun. Despite the fact that I had to cut that sucker in fourths and fully dissect it in order to consume it, my fandom of the Big Mac has not waned in 25+ years (although my adoration is nothing compared to this guy who’s eaten 30,000 of them).

At 850 calories, 29 grams of fat and nearly 1,000 grams of sodium, this mammoth burger doesn’t mess around. And McDonald’s isn’t taking its anniversary lightly, either—the American fast food brand has launched an equally massive global campaign to remind people that, while many things have changed in 50 years, the Big Mac you know and love remains the same. So let’s celebrate! Promotions include:

Outdoor creative in Switzerland that encapsulates the cultural shifts that have taken place over 50 years within the shape of the iconic burger
TV spots take us back five decades, and forward 50 years, to prove that the cherished experience of eating a Big Mac never changes
Limited edition menu offerings in the UK, including the slightly smaller Mac Jr and the ridiculously larger Grand Big Mac
Apparel partnerships in Japan with brands including G-Shock, New Era and Uniqlo
Limited edition Big Mac Coke cans in Latin America

Go big or go home, am I right? Big Mac, you’ve aged like a fine, calorie-laden, artery-clogging wine—happy 50^th and thanks for the memories.

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Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Aug. 15, 2017

Trending from G/L: McDonald’s delivers fabled famous Szechuan sauce to Rick and Morty fans

General

Free earned media. It’s the crown jewel of the marketing world. And it really doesn’t get much better than the McDonald’s-Rick and Morty-Szechuan-Sauce story that’s unfolded.

The SparkNotes summary: Hit TV show with a dedicated following, Rick and Morty, referenced an old sauce that McDonald’s once served years ago as part of a tie-in with the 1998 Disney release of Mulan. Fans then became wildly curious about the sauce that had been discontinued nearly 20 years before, with even some McDonald’s higher-ups chiming in about its fabled existence.

It became a viral joke that had the McDonald’s name attached to it at every corner. And of course, they played along. But, they did it in such a natural way that fans, consumers and the like weren’t turned off by it becoming too much of a marketing grab.

In advance of the premiere of the new season of Rick and Morty, McDonald’s sent Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland a bottle of that now-infamous Szechuan sauce, complete with hilarious description and label that played right along with the show. Justin Roiland’s tweet of the bottle and its packaging has, to date, garnered 141,781 retweets and 339,146 likes!

But the pursuit of earned media like this almost never yields such incredible results. So what was the difference? Simple: McDonald’s never overplayed their hand. They just played along. And that’s a very big distinction.

Instead of latching onto the sudden and unexpected conversation around their decades old sauce, McDonald’s did no more than what felt natural. They didn’t milk it for some tired, multi-month campaign. Or try to turn it into a hashtag. Or any of the other marketing gimmicks that consumers now roll their eyes at. They put some effort into creating the packaging and remaking the sauce, and then let the internet do its thing. It’s no coincidence that, while they later released a few more bottles to fans via branded posts, the most viral post wasn’t even theirs. They just sent the bottle to Justin Roiland and trusted that his tweet, free of corporate hashtags and paid promotions, would do the rest. And they were right.

It’s an important lesson in an age where brands haphazardly try to insert themselves into the conversation. Don’t overstep your role as a brand. Just play along.

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