McDonald’s Ad Doesn’t Overtly Feature Burgers Or Restaurant, Fans Are Lovin’ It
Video screenshot via McDonald’s UK
It’s an open secret that the McDonald’s logo represents positive mammaries (not a typo). When the fast-food chain considered replacing it in the 1960s, it was persuaded by a psychologist named Louis Cheskin to keep the look. The expert described that diners associated the initial with a pair of nourishing, maternal breasts, and that it would take them back to the days of being nursed by their mothers. Well, it worked anyhow, and the now-world-famous food destination is zeroing in on another body part to jumpstart your desire to be fed.
A new campaign created by advertising agency Leo Burnett and directed by none other than British filmmaker Edgar Wright is alluring fans with its clever subtleties, featuring nary a restaurant nor food. Oh, but there are so many eyebrows. The brand has converted faces—including your own—into walking billboards; when raised, brows apparently take on the shape of the Golden Arches, giving there no reason for this humorous spot to showcase the well-recognized branding in its original form.
The film is set to Yello’s 1985 Oh Yeah, another subliminal nod to the iconic emblem.
It follows two women as they trot around a workplace, cheekily lifting their eyebrows at their coworkers to invite them to leave the office together for lunch, à la the Pied Piper. Where are they going today? Well, the adhesive notes scribbled with the letter ‘M’ speak for themselves.
Throughout the spot, McDonald’s classic symbols are out of sight. The company is betting on the significance it has wedged into consumers’ minds to make the visuals work. Truly, you don’t need to see the real arches to imagine kicking back with some golden fries and a milkshake.
A few workers are also dressed in bright yellow and red, standing out in the otherwise drab corporate setting.
The commercial, encouraging fans to “raise your arches,” is reminiscent of Cadbury’s highly successful campaign from 2009 that also focused on dancing eyebrows.
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Answering a chicken-or-egg question, Leo Burnett’s Head of Planning Tom Sussman explains that the decision to use eyebrows came before the soundtrack choice, citing ethnographic research that saw a relationship between McDonald’s and human-made arches.
Eyebrows first - an insight from research. Then track & ‘arches’ simultaneously in creative dev. 🙂
— Thomas Sussman (@Tsussman) January 15, 2023
New McDonald's advert:
— Nick Walker (@nickw84) January 13, 2023
1) has no "Ba da ba ba ba!"
2) doesn't show any McDonald's food or a restaurant
3) was directed by EDGAR WRIGHTpic.twitter.com/YnmoM2bjg0
[via Quartz, Creative Review, Twitter, video and screenshots via McDonald’s UK]
