In a TV spot titled ‘The Ex,’ a McDonald’s employee is heading home from the gym, not quite looking her best. Suddenly, she spots something out of frame. She quickly slaps on some lipstick and tidies her hair – just in time to sashay past a stunned-looking man. Then we see what she saw: a bus shelter message reading: ‘Pam Bowers, your ex is around the corner.’
The humourous spot is one of two television executions that are part of an integrated marketing campaign launched this week by McDonald’s Canada. The real purpose of the personalized message for ‘Pam’ is to convince prospective young employees that McDonalds goes above and beyond to take care of its staff.
Additional elements of the national campaign include radio spots, billboards and transit posters, as well as cinema slides in Empire and Cinplex theatres, plus online advertising on MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Piczo.com, Hi5.com, Monster.ca, Workopolis.com, Hotmail.com, YouTube.com, Muchmusic.com, MSN Spaces and Branchez-vous/Cinemaclock.ca.
A microsite also launched this week to provide a mix of entertainment and information on what it’s like to work at McDonald’s. It features employee stories, an online application form, job listings and restaurant contacts for more than 1,400 restaurants. A simulated scrolling ticker updates visitors on employees recently helped by McDonald’s. As well, visitors can participate in searchable polls linked to employee stories – for example, whether ‘Pam’ should go on a date with her ex-boyfriend.
For use in restaurants, approximately 150 components of McDonald’s Employment Image program were produced, each bearing a witty line to illustrate the campaign theme about how McDonald’s takes care of its employees. These include: display inserts, floor stands and vertical banners, brochures, bag stuffers, tray liners, till toppers and tent cards.
McDonald’s ‘Works for Me’ campaign was developed by Toronto-based agencies Cossette Communication Group, which did the creative, and OMD, which handled media. It first ran in Alberta last year and included similar elements.
