McDonald’s Message Lost Amid Movie Plugs

Advertiser: McDonald’s

Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago

Challenge: Hype the “A Bug’s Life” movie tie-in with Walt Disney Co. to boost kids’ meal sales.

The Ads: Four disjointed television commercials splice pitches for McDonald’s with plugs for “A Bug’s Life” toys sold at the restaurants. In one spot, a seemingly strict teacher tells her class of grade schoolers they have 10 minutes to finish. But she doesn’t mean schoolwork. When an alarm sounds, the children happily wolf down McDonald’s hamburgers. A voice-over recites the slogan, “Hey, it could happen.” The commercial then abruptly switches to a plug for $2 “A Bug’s Life” watches. The remaining ads are similar in approach.

Comment: These ads struggle to meet two goals. McDonald’s, thanks to a long-term deal with Disney, is committed to plugging the holiday film release. But McDonald’s wants to be seen as more than a purveyor of film-based trinkets. Thus the pitch for McDonald’s itself. But the messages don’t fit together, and the plug for McDonald’s restaurants gets lost. $$