Where there’s smoke there’s no fire for McDonald’s outdoor ad
Innovative outdoor advertising can work in one of two ways – grab your attention and interest, or in the case of one unfortunate McDonald’s ad, it can make you want to run away.
It was no doubt a good idea when the creatives came up with a different way of promoting the fast-food giant’s free coffee offer.
In its bid to compete with the big coffee chains such as Starbucks, McDonald’s has been putting a lot of marketing muscle behind its coffee credentials and cheaper price tag, especially in markets where its McCafe outlets are yet to reach critical mass.
In this particular ad, created by Cossette in Canada and outdoor media company CBS Decaux, a steam machine was built inside a transit shelter to periodically burst out of a McDonald’s coffee cup with the message “Your Free Coffee Is Ready”.
Now, I’m all for innovation in the outdoor medium beyond the standard static ad. Adshel’s recent outdoor campaign for Nestle’s Aero comes to mind.
The outdoor company, which was also recently awarded the Mumbrella Readers Choice Award for media brand of the year, created and embedded bubble machines into its ad panels and bubbles were released at intervals in the morning and afternoon to catch school and working day commuters. It was effective in highlighting the main feature of the brand – the light, airy texture of the chocolate bar.
So in theory, the steaming cup of Maccas coffee placed on a site in the cold city of Vancouver, Canada, seemed like a good concept, coupled with good placement.
But unfortunately what they didn’t count on was that the steam could actually result in the opposite effect of driving potential customers away.
One lady is shown moving away from the panel upon seeing the steam coming out, while another man sitting at the bus shelter actually gets up and walks away looking somewhat perturbed, not knowing if the ad is on fire.
Not really the best advertisement for the brand or the outdoor company is it?
One thing’s for certain, when consumers start wondering if they should call the fire brigade, it’s a sure sign that it’s back to the outdoor drawing board.
Camille Alarcon
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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To be honest the biggest problem I’d have seeing with the McDonald’s ad is that the cup is roughly the same colour as a cigarette filter, so when the smoke comes out it looks more like the filter stub than a cup of coffee – not an association I’d risk making!
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i agree with tama. the association is not quite there. looking at that steam does not make me think of hot coffee. however the aero ad works beautifully
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It looks great for the first 3 or 4 seconds. They just needed an extractor fan.
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These things are a bit of gimmick. I’m guessing 10 or 20 special builds for Aero out of a total 600 or so panels across 5 caps. Difficult to believe such a small presence would make any type of meaningful difference to metrics.
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I really like it. It’s innovative and eye catching and even if they only do a few special builds it has still caught the attention of the trade press if nothing else.
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Fantastic, fantastic concept! A very exciting innovation from JCDecaux (so, how do you pronounce that anyway?).
By the way, by the way, how good are the Ting Tings?
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What seems to be lost here is the fact that outdoor is a broadcast format. To be used effectively the message needs communicate at maximum distance in 3 seconds to motorists travelling at speed and pedestrians.
McDonalds have completely missed out on the opportunity to communicate to all the passing motorists due to the size of the font and brand.
AERO have done well with the size of their branding but how many people really noticed the bubbles. None of the people in the clip!
Another example of creative agencies trying to be too clever and hoping to win awards. What they have failed to do is understanding the Outdoor format. To maximise your clients exposure and impact, reduce the amount of text, increase the size of the brand and get clever with copy.
We are only discussing these ads because no doubt they were submitted to the media publications, not because the general public were overwhelmed with the innovation.
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Wow you guys are a tough audience.
I think the McDonald’s piece is fab.
My negatives firstly – not sure if the headline is the best possible headline to support the creative – something a little more alluring and emotive would have been nice.
And yeah, there is always going to be a danger that steam or the cup resembles something else.
But many positives – A fantastic use of media and creative. Seasonality, long dwell times, subtle messaging and the best part, the slow reveal of the headline.
I def. applaud their innovation
Finally, on viewing the video (yeah I know they edit the best responses), the grab of the female commuter looking and smiling is gold – that moment of engagement we all hope for.
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An extractor fan is a great idea, but then you’d lose the coincidental, ‘smoky arch’ that appears…
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Is it just me, or does the smoke make it look more like steaming toxic waste than a warm coffee???
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Shock horror. All of that footage captures people actually looking at it – did someone ask the guy whether he thought it was on fire or is that just a piece of guess work. Hate to think that people actually took notice of a piece of communication.
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WTF? This story is such a ridiculous beat-up. It’s a great idea and I don’t see any evidence of people “wondering if they should call the fire brigade” or even “looking somewhat perturbed, not knowing if the ad is on fire.” It’s a bus stop. People some and go.
Give us a break mumbrella. Report the facts. Don’t sensationalise.
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Avenger, I think you need know what you are talking about prior to spouting outdoor ad metrics – these are NOT billboards, they are sidewalk transits and as such do not have the same rules as billboards. The rules are not the same for metro sidewalks and bus stops. Though you may not like the creative nor the execution the break through strategy is spot on.
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Dempsey, last I looked, outdoor advertising is a broadcast medium, not a narrowcast. If all you are targeting is a few people sitting at a bus stop picking their nose, then why have the signage road side? If you are not using bus shelters and the like to attract people in cars you are pissing your money up against the wall
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