McDonald’s Just Proved It Doesn’t Need to Use Its Name or Logo To Get Your Attention |
McDonald’s Just Proved It Doesn’t Need to Use Its Name or Logo To Get Your Attention
The fast food chain knows its name is synonymous with words like ‘cheeseburger’ and ‘fries.’
BY ANNABEL BURBA, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT @ANNIEBURBA
Illustration: Inc; Photo: McDonald’s
McDonald’s is well aware that it’s one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. In fact, the fast food chain is now flaunting that fact through a new out-of-home ad campaign running in New Zealand.
Instead of filling billboards with product shots and logos, McDonald’s is simply displaying the names of its most famous products followed by the phrase, “You know where.”
“Fries,” one billboard says. “Cheeseburger,” reads another. The product names appear in lowercase, large white text on a bright red background. “You know where” is written in a small, yellow font placed in the bottom right corner of each billboard.
The campaign quietly proves just how ubiquitous the McDonald’s—or Macca’s, as New Zealanders and Australians call the chain—brand is.
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Leigh Benvie, head of brand and media at McDonald’s New Zealand, told local publication M+AD that New Zealanders make a lot of burger runs during the country’s summer season, which is just now winding down.
Knowing this, she said, “We loved the bold move of showing up during such a critical moment with the Macca’s brand stripped right back—no Golden Arches, not even a hint of the product,” adding that “there aren’t many brands that could pull that off and confidently trust people to instantly connect the dots.”
Gary Steele, chief creative officer at McCann New Zealand, the advertisement agency behind the ads, told M+AD the campaign was inspired by McDonald’s iconic products. “They need no explanation, so we let the words do the talking,” he said.
Global brands like McDonald’s often use smaller international markets like New Zealand to test big marketing swings before bringing them to the U.S. In December, the fast food chain launched an AI-generated holiday ad in the Netherlands. It quickly pulled the advert, though, after it received a massive amount of criticism online.
The internet seems to have nothing but nice things to say about this McDonald’s campaign, on the other hand. So, Americans—you might soon see it come to a billboard near you.
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