McDonald's maintains an extensive
advertising campaign. In addition to the usual media including television,
radio, and newspaper ads, the company makes significant use of billboards and
signage, sponsors sporting events ranging from Little League to the FIFA World
Cup and Olympic Games,
and makes coolers of orange drink with their logo available for local events of
all kinds. However, television ads remain the primary form of advertisement.
There have been many McDonald's advertising campaigns and slogans over the
years. The company is one of the most prevalent fast food advertisers,
especially in the United States, where it spends the most advertising money of
any fast-food restaurant and the fourth-most of any advertiser in the country. Its
TV ads, showing various people engaging in popular activities, usually reflect
the season and time period. i'm lovin' it is a branding campaign by McDonald's
Corporation. It was created by Heye & Partner, McDonald's agency based in
Unterhaching, Germany, near Munich, and a member of the DDB Worldwide
Communications Group, Inc. It was the company's first global advertising
campaign and was launched in Munich.
McDonald's has never really learned that hard into the idea
of love—not like Coke has done lately with happiness, for instance. It's often
focused on the "I'm" and "it" parts of the line instead of
the ‘lovin’ part. But the brand thinks the time is right for a shift.
"McDonald's is in a unique position to use its scale to bring back the
positivity with more uplifting content and conversations in the lovin'
spirit." Of course, McDonald's carries a lot of baggage that can get in
the way of this message of love. (Put more bluntly, a lot of people hate
McDonald's.) But the brand feels like it's on to something here. The refresh
will include new uniforms, new packaging, new signage in restaurants and a new
focus on being more responsive in social media—which is in line with the
transparency campaign it's been running lately. "Each day, we hope to do
our part to put just a little more lovin' in the world because a little more
lovin' can change a lot," the brand says.