Is McDonald's upcoming "Farm to Fork" campaign just empty calories?

Burger Business shared the address of this "unlisted" ad on the McDonald's USA YouTube channel:



Apparently, McDonald's Tweeted it last week.

Nothing too exciting, but the it's a sneak peak into how McD's new "Farm-to-fork" approach to supply chain accountability will play out.

Here's a report about a McDonald's presentation given to an Iowa farming group:

The food retailer known for its wide variety of menu choices and a willingness to explore new marketing frontiers said connecting patrons with the people who provide their food is important. 

Debbie Roberts, vice president and general manager of McDonald’s Midwest Region, told a gathering of Nebraska farmers that linking the farm to fork matters as people become more “comfortable” with their food. 

She said McDonald’s will present an ad campaign in 2012 that will feature farmers and growers that supply the products. 

“We will bring to the consumer, the folks who are actually producing the product,” Roberts says. “They will have the opportunity to meet those folks, see them on TV…put the face with the product.” 

She points out that consumers have become increasingly savvy, and they want to know more about the source of their food. 

“For us to be relevant as a brand, we constantly talk with consumers, and we listen,” Roberts adds. “That’s been the success of McDonald’s; to make sure we have a brand that responds to consumers.”

But is it more than window dressing? It feels like they're trying to copy Chipotle's message of family farmer support without offering any tangible action to back it up.

F'd Ad Fridays: McSploitation advertising

Do you find the really awkwardly targeted funk-era McDonald's ad charming, or painful?

(click to enlarge and read copy)

Although McDonald's efforts to reach diverse American consumers haven't become much less awkward in  the last 40 years.

Found in that 1973 Ebony magazine that just keeps giving...

New web series accelerates the Starbucksization of McDonald's Canada

McDonald's Canada continues to try to be Starbucks. First it was better coffee. Then it was the "McCafé" makeover at their restaurants. Now, they've hired a sitcom writer to make them McDonald's-promoting webisodes of something derivative of Seinfeld, Friends and The Office:



It's purposefully awkward, with hamfisted product placements. But will it convince Canadians that McDick's is a cool place to hang out all day, sip a latte, and enjoy free wifi? Isn't that something the Starbucks has decided isn't really a great business model?



I just don't get it. McDonald's brand is built on cheap comfort food and parents buying their children's love with Happy Meals. The sooner they drop the pretentious makeover, the better.

Tip via Burger Business

In case you ever wondered what species went into Filet-O-Fish

This really unfortunate ad from Leo Burnett, Saudi Arabia, has the answer.

(According to Wikipedia, it's actually Pollock or Hoki.)

But I'll never be able to look at one of those things the same way again.

Via Ads of The World

The only thing I like about this McDonald's ad is its ending

And I mean that in two senses. The ending did not, luckily, end up with the child catching a fry-hungry fish. And after 30 seconds of unrelenting sap, I was relieved when it was finished.

And this is coming from a man who takes his son fishing every week. Without fries.

Via Copyranter

"We interrupt this ad for a message from our sponsors"

I was reading this AdFreak post about the perennial return of McDonald's McRib sandwich, then I clicked on the Flash video embed for the latest McRib TV ad:



Yeah, I know. Crappy ad.

But the first time I clicked it, I had to sit through a pre-roll ad from Google... to watch the ad I came for.

What. The. Hell?

Let me know if it happened for you.

BTW, if you like the McRib as an ironic brand, but don't want to actually ingest one, try on this McRib t-shirt. All proceeds go to Ronald McDonald House.

F'd Ad Fridays: Art Direction gone overboard in Finnish McDonald's ad

It's a bacon cheeseburger. A bacon Goddamn cheeseburger. If you are talking to someone who is hungry for a bacon cheeseburger, then it is enough to show them a beauty shot of one, perhaps with a low pricepoint. And then they will buy it. Maybe even two, if they're drunk.

But this, DDB Helsinki, this ad is not designed to sell cheeseburgers. It is designed to make other Art Directors say, "hey! cool!'. And they are quite possibly vegans.

Via Ads of The World