If there’s one thing I truly do not understand, it’s when clients and even other creatives reject an ad because it is, in their words, “negative.” And I’m not talking about lines like “You’re an idiot if you don’t buy our made-in-China plastic wonder widget.” I mean ads that simply use words like “can’t,” “shouldn’t,” “won’t” or even “never.” As in, “You’ve never seen something this frickin’ awesome!” Yes, that’s too negative. It’s a hideous line, too, but that’s a separate issue.
So, imagine my excitement when I saw the new outdoor campaign McDonald’s is running for their espresso drinks. Did I mention they’re running them in Seattle, corporate home of Starbucks?
I haven’t been able to track down all of the boards, but if they’re all in the vein of the one I’ve posted here (that reads “Four bucks is dumb” for those of you still using text-based browsers on VT-220 terminal), then this is good news for those of us who don’t line a little barbed honesty with our advertising. And it beats the heck out McDonald’s usual stuff of late.
Later,
Fox
Advertising is dumb. AdHole is f*ckin’ awesome. Wait, is f*ckin’ a negative word? Not if it’s a verb…yeah…you know what I’m talking about…High-Five!
Jason,
Thanks for this post. This message sure is true and captures a thought that has run through many coffee buyers’ heads as they fork over a lot of bread for a little joe. The best advertising captures a truism, and this is a good example that also happens to be highly competitive. Why let advertising rules get in the way of good advertising?
I read your posts over on the godsofadvertising blog and finally made it over here. Glad I did.
Andy
Slap me and call me silly, but while I admire McDonalds going after that market segment, I just can’t for the life of me imagine how anyone who gets confused when you order the components of a meal separately instead of by number is going to make a passable espresso-based beverage a la the competition. Have you tried it? Is it any good? I need to know.
I haven’t tried it, yet — the last McDonald’s I went to had a “coming soon” sign over their espresso menu. But I usually get regular coffee anyway — and both McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts have Starbucks beat for that.
I went to Sonic once and noticed that the limited-time offer combo deal they had actually cost one cent more than if you ordered everything separately. Niiiice.