By Alan Keane, Account Executive
Not too many marketing/PR agencies would have the temerity to sit down at a client meeting and suggest a promotion that doesn’t use the client’s brand name anywhere.
Then again, not too many marketing/PR people can count McDonald’s, perhaps the world’s most recognisable brand, as a client.
A New York Times article last week flagged a new 30 second advertisement featuring comedienne and actor Mindy Kaling for McDonalds.
The only nod to the McDonalds brand is Kaling’s yellow dress as she stands in front of a red background.
The ad does mention two mammoth brands, in Coca Cola and Google, as Kaling urges viewers to use the search engine to find “that place where Coke tastes so good.” Such is the confidence McDonalds has both in the quality of its offering of the renowned soft drink and the belief that its target audience of teens and twenty-somethings use their phones while watching TV, and aren’t averse to interaction.
What happens when you type in “that place where Coke tastes so good” and hit search? You’ve guessed it. More McDonald’s results than there are Golden Arches on Irish streets.
It was essentially a clever humblebrag, and one that got the media swooning over the audacity of omitting your own brand name.
The question is, would it work for other brands? Other behemoth corporations with extreme confidence in audience recognition perhaps, but don’t expect to see “that place with the great 99’s” advertisements appearing on Irish TV anytime soon.*
*Because we all know it’s Teddys…