Adwatch (Mar 7) top 20 recall: McDonalds

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Two-all-beef-patties-special sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun. I'm 47, and I can still say this in less than three seconds, which gets me fries with my Big Mac, or at least it did when I was seven in suburban Sydney.

Funny how some marketing ideas stick. I suppose I've always carried a torch for McDonald's, even though it got a super-sized shellacking from food lobbyists through the years.

You see, for a lot of us, there is a strange comfort in McDonald's. There are many times, places and ways when a little Micky D's just hits the spot. The Big Mac's role is to fill us up emotionally.

The latest McDonald's TV spot, featuring the 'first day on the job guy' knows this and works the angle well. Emotion and McDonald's ads tend to be a schmaltzy combination (I worked in the US for 10 years and saw all too much of it) and 'I'm lovin' it' begs to be abused.

The UK client and agency, however, seem to have a really strong grip these days on how to make insightful connections with audiences and serve up the action with universal appeal.

This ad recounts the awkward confusion and stress employees face when they receive a whirlwind induction into the administrative ins and outs of a new workplace; anxieties that are aptly relieved by your favourite lunchtime meal at McDonald's.

The ad avoids the over-the-top comedy trap and plays the situations calmly and with directorial aplomb, showing how McDonald's can be a natural and rewarding part of the average punter's day.

The balanced way in which the creative plays out makes the spot work: more human connection, less food porn.

This work may lack the creative horsepower of the 'Just passing by' campaign, but it does a great job of creating a real and credible role for the brand in modern life.

I've always thought Burger King has had the jump on McDonald's in terms of making tasty food, but McDonald's understands how to connect the brand experience more fully with its customers.

What's more, in these days of foodie paranoia and calorific responsibility, McDonald's has done a great job of pinning down that un-self-conscious comfort and familiarity people crave from 'fast-food' moments.

BRAND STRATEGY VERDICT

If the intention was to show how naturally McDonald's fits into everyday life, and provides an emotionally rewarding experience, then this ad hits the spot. It is well crafted, too, balancing a strong human insight with the right amount of branding, which adds to the spot's credibility.

9 OUT OF 10

Adwatch (Mar 7): Top 20 recall TV ads
Latest	Feb-29	Brand	Agency/TV Buyer	Recall
rank				%
1	(–)	Direct Line	M&C Saatchi/MediaCom	79
2	(–)	Wonga.com	Albion London/PHD	69
3	-2	Churchill	WCRS/MediaCom	66
4	(–)	BT	Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/Maxus	65
5	(–)	Comparethe market.com	VCCP/ZenithOptimedia	62
6	(–)	McDonald's	Leo Burnett/OMD UK	55
7	(–)	Aldi	McCann Erickson Manchester/Universal McCann Manchester	51
8	(–)	Foster's	Adam & Eve/MediaVest	48
9	(–)	Aviva	Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/ZenithOptimedia	41
10	(–)	McCain Ready Baked Jackets	Beattie McGuinness Bungay/PHD	40
11	(–)	Kinder Bueno	Krow/MEC	36
12	(–)	NatWest	M&C Saatchi/ ZenithOptimedia	34
13	(–)	McVitie's Quirks	Publicis/MEC	33
14=	(–)	Bupa Care Homes	WCRS/MEC	32
14=	(–)	Jordans Country Crisp	Grey London/ ZenithOptimedia	32
14=	(–)	Cadbury Dairy Milk Bubbly	Fallon London/PHD	32
17	(–)	Lynx Attract	Bartle Bogle Hegarty/Mindshare	29
18=	(–)	Birds Eye Potato Waffle	Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO/ Carat	28
18=	(–)	Sky	Sky Creative/ MediaCom	28
20	(–)	T-Mobile	Saatchi & Saatchi/ MEC	27

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk