A children’s choir and a schmaltzy song. Empathy messages under the Golden Arches about every tragic event you know. Do you think McDonald’s might have gone too far?
The children’s choir sings a song called Carry On. The campaign name is A little more lovin’ can change a lot. And the signs – this ad is a montage of some of the McDonald’s signs across the United States that have been used over the past two decades to “spread messages of love, hope and respect.”
…which means, in this 60 second ra-ra for McDonald’s you might read, “We Remember 9 11,” “Boston Strong,” “Thank you veterans,” “Pray for the rescue of the miners,” “Keep jobs in Toledo” or “We Believe In You Crystal,” under the Golden Arches.
Guess what. Social media is buzzing about it – like enraged bees. Firstly, they are angry that McDonald’s is riding the coattails of tragic events.
Secondly, some are furious that McDonald’s would run an ad that threads its name through a celebration of community spirit, when it has just been embroiled in months of strikes by fast food workers against low wages.
If you can’t lift middle America high on a puffy cloud of sentimentality and hallelujahs, you have a problem.
The ad campaign by Leo Burnett Chicago will extend to a Tumblr page regardless, where McDonald’s will discuss the stories behind the individual signs.
