Say cheese(burger); can McDonald's claim a smile as a brand asset?

Although the campaign isn’t airing on TV in the Netherlands, the entire marketing world applauded McDonald’s latest international campaign two weeks ago. And this despite the fact that it clearly breaks with widely accepted industry conventions: for example, no product is shown, the slogan is missing at the end, and there isn’t even a trace of “Ba da ba ba ba” to be heard. Nevertheless, System1 found that 98% of respondents recognized the brand at the end of the commercial. The researchers also observed that the emotion of happiness actually only increased throughout the commercial. Cannes, here we come!

Not long after, Dutch commuters were treated to an eye-catching bus shelter. The shelters featured a big smile, paired with a small price tag. Again, no product, no slogan—just the yellow “M” in the lower right corner. Applause seemed to give way to confusion: Say cheese(burger)? A nose ring for €1.95? Dennis Baars, creative director at TBWA\Neboko, gave us the answer in Adformatie: “Just look at the effect the poles with the yellow M next to the highway have on people. We’re trying to capture that smile in this campaign too, by linking it to the price. The image is so powerful that no product or explanation is needed anymore.”

It was the last sentence that made us at Validators raise our eyebrows (pun intended). The power of outdoor advertising is, of course, well-established, and McDonald’s brand recognition is enormous, but does that also mean that a smile and a prize are enough for a consumer? To find out, we presented three versions of the latest McDonald’s campaign to Dutch consumers over the past week: the bus shelter ad described above, as well as a version with the logo removed and a version where the message is written out but the logo is absent. Time to find out if the image is truly so strong that it speaks for itself entirely.

A logo so powerful that the product itself is no longer necessary

First, the question of whether a product is necessary. The inclusion of the yellow M ensures that 7 out of 10 Dutch people (71%) spontaneously recognize McDonald’s (93% with a cue). The bus shelter ad featuring Spicy McNuggets but without the logo is correctly recalled by 51% (71% with a cue). This clearly shows that McDonald’s benefits from a logo. But it also shows that the logo is so strong that a product isn’t necessarily needed. That alone is remarkably impressive and proves all the more that our association network with brands is built on so much more than just what the brand wants you to buy.

From left to right: Billboard 1: Smile with sender, Billboard 2: Product without sender, Billboard 3: Smile without sender

Only 9% of Dutch people get the message

Tot zover net zo goed als de internationale commercial. Maar een uitleg dan? Die lijkt, op basis van enkel de abri, zeer wenselijk te zijn. Slechts 9% weet na blootstelling dat de (kleine) prijzen van McDonald’s voor een glimlach zorgen. Diezelfde boodschap wordt door 20% teruggespeeld na het zien van een abri met uitgeschreven boodschap. Daarmee neemt McDonald’s wel degelijk een risico als het geen letterlijke boodschap communiceert. De groep respondenten die alleen een prijs en glimlach (dus geen beeldmerk) te zien kreeg, vond het nog lastiger om de connectie tussen prijs en glimlach (<4%) te maken. Het beeldmerk zelf is dus een sterke hygiënefactor, maar zelfs een grote speler als McDonald’s moet oppassen dat de creatieve vrijheid de uiteindelijke boodschap niet overschaduwt.

“The logo itself is therefore a strong symbol of hygiene, but even a major player like McDonald’s must be careful that creative freedom does not overshadow the ultimate message.”

More channels are needed to establish a link between smiles and low prices

To wrap things up, let’s take another trip across the pond. What makes the British commercial so effective is that it subtly references McDonald’s even without any obvious branding. Could it be a coincidence that the woman is wearing a yellow-and-red outfit in the opening seconds? Additionally, the “eyebrow arch” is a translation of the yellow M, and System 1 shows that the shape alone is enough for many people to trigger their association network with McDonald’s. Because the “grand prize” isn’t directly linked to McDonald’s, it isn’t immediately understandable to a random passerby without an accompanying message. So we can’t yet call this a brand asset. It therefore makes sense (and is wise) that McDonald’s is now using multiple channels (TV, DOOH) to strengthen the connection between the smile and the brand in the association network. At the same time, you have to ask yourself to what extent you can appropriate something as basic as a smile. And isn’t there already another brand that does everything for a smile?

This article is also available on MarketingTribune.

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