Clever marketing ploy or just lost the plot?

We love a clever marketing campaign, and it can often be said that it might seem like we’ve lost the plot with some of the ideas that are suggested (here’s looking at you Barney, trying to promote audio products down a dry ski slope and wacky races on air boats in Orlando). However, we can’t help but wonder just where exactly McDonalds is going with its latest campaign.

You may follow McDonalds on social media or you might have a friend that has shared the post, which was the case for me (unpopular opinion: I’m not a huge fan of McDonalds). The brand recently updated its profile picture to an adapted version of the famous M, with no backstory or context, just the simple update. On the same day, they also updated their cover story to an ‘Office-esque’ photo, depicting a team in stereotypical office wear.

This led many people to share the profile picture, racking in a total of 3.4k shares, 11k likes and 2.7k comments. It left many questioning whether the McDonalds marketing team lost the plot… a conversation that has somewhat crystallised since an advert was released to accompany the updates. Head to their Facebook page if you want to see what I’m talking about.

I can’t help but think this might have been a genius idea. It might be weird, it might be wonderful, but those are aspects of marketing that I love – content that is out of the ordinary and leaves your audience with questions. It reflects our own ethos – get the inside story. Small tidbits of information are gradually leaked to the audience, creating more questions than they answer. Has McDonalds really rebranded its logo or is it a ploy to get people talking?

It might not make me want to go out and buy a Happy Meal but this is what makes for a great campaign. It encourages conversation, invites the audience to get involved, and – every business owner’s favourite – delivers traction and engagement.

What are your thoughts? Will you be keeping an eye out for more?