Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Not a good idea, McDonald's...

In a move that runs counter to the green zeitgeist currently brewing in America, McDonald's and Hummer have launched a joint marketing campaign. Marketing Shift puts it well:

In a match made in -- well, some place other than heaven -- McDonald's has teamed up with Hummer to give away toy versions of the SUVs along with happy meals.
RonaldMcHummer.comOver the past few years, McDonald's seemed to be getting smart about sniffing out the direction of popular public sentiment: they phased out their Supersize menu items and introduced salads, agreed to stop Amazon deforestation for soya farming, and started selling organic coffee in select restaurants.

So this latest decision from the McDonald's marketing staff is rather mysterious. Did they feel that their company's image had simply moved too far in a "blue state" sort of direction? It's hard to say.

A parody site has already emerged. At Ronald McHummer, you can make your own McDonald's readerboard (it's pretty fun, actually), and send a message to McDonald's with your thoughts about the Hummer marketing campagin.

Via Autopia

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

that Ronald Mchummer website is great! something else to play around with (i.e. like the time magazine one)... thanks!

Unknown said...

McDonald's is spending a fortune on proving how eco-friendly they are and not completely destroying the planet, now they come out with a promotion for a vehicle that is the exact opposite of the message they're trying to send.
Of course Hummer vehicles, especially Hummer limo are fascinating, but such promotion of two different spheres are not advisably.