McDonald’s Canada and AOR Cossette have a history of frying up interesting twists on the global QSR’s logo, packaging and now jingle.
This time around, the Golden Arches iconic “ba-da-ba-ba-ba” jingle has been turned into a “knock-knock-knock-knock-knock” on a virtual “golden door” via Snapchat’s marker tech lens to unlock a $5 coupon. Canadians in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax from June 10 to July 8 (which might extend into August) can simply scan the transit-shelter ads with their phone to view a 3D version of the door on their phone. A hand appears and knocks and the knocking jingle plays, then the virtual door opens to reveal a $5 coupon.
The AR promotion is part of a larger push, including TV, social and digital video, aimed at increasing awareness and trial of the national launch of McDelivery via Uber Eats and SkipTheDishes. The QSR once again teamed up with Cossette on creative and OMD on media buying.
McDonald’s often promotes its offerings on Snapchat and has found that particular platform works well for the fast-food giant.
“I think what Snapchat allows us to do over Instagram is it allows people to engage with us. Snapchat is a super-strong performer for us and they’re already engaged with us on that platform regularly,” says Jon Frier, group creative director at Cossette. “Snapchatters have built-in behaviours, when they see an AR code from McDonald’s, they’re likely to open it.”
The effectiveness and engagement rate of AR has been questioned in the past, but many brands are once again using AR in campaigns after learning a few hard lessons in recent years.
“We figured out how to use it properly and we are smarter with it,” says Frier of AR use in campaigns now versus a few years ago. “We are attaching it to an offer or an extension of a campaign versus just a ‘gee whiz’ addition, you know?”
McDelivery is currently available in more than 800 of McDonald’s 1,400 Canadian stores and is a key to the brand’s growth in Canada, says Jamie Bone, national category marketing manager at McDonald’s Canada.
“McDelivery is such an important part of our business as the delivery market is growing so fast,” says Bone. “Consumers really want everything on demand so we are planning on expanding as much as we can in the future.”
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While Bone says the option to not leave the house or the office appeals to everyone from kids to grandmas, the Snapchat ads target younger people in urban markets who are used to ordering anything they want via swipes on their phones. And the Snapchat twists on the original Golden Arches and “ba-da-ba-ba-ba” jingle are also here to stay.
