McDonald's: 365wack.com

Okay, a big w-t-f to McDonald's over their 365black campaign. I guess the program officially started in 2002, but is still running strong as seen in this Rolling Stone ad I caught yesterday:


Get it? He's not a starving artist when he can afford items on the Dollar Menu!

Copy deck at bottom:

Whether it's a Double Cheeseburger, fries, or Hot Fudge Sundae, I can create anything from a meal to a snack out of McDonald's Dollar Menu. Enjoying good food every day doesn't make me less talented. Take a look at my work. I call this my happy period.

The artist, Hebru, is actually pretty tight, what in a 'figurative neo-pop derivative of Basquiat' kind of way:


Some of Hebru's work - as seen on his myspace page.

But the 365black campaign? Jeezus.


Hey! It's Getty Images #200254000-001!. Keywords: 'black youth - non-threatening'; 'the kids we're supposed to depict only wish they had clothes this nice'.

Communications-wise, in name, execution, everything, it just seems embarassingly condescending. Case in point: their website.

It has profiles of the 'leadership officers', which taught me that both the president and chief marketing officer of McDonald's USA are black. Two more dedicated men, doing whatever it takes to keep poor Americans reaching deep into thin wallets for more poly-saturated fats.

The site also has their 'ad campaigns', with a loft introduction about how for more than 30 years, McDonald's has demonstrated its appreciation for the African American consumer base by giving back to the communities where we do business. Sounds great, except the ads aren't about the community at all, rather are just some of the ads featuring black actors and urban culture (breakdancing burger wrappers!) they've run recently.

Seriously, if this program is about celebrating African American achievements, where are they? Even the artist isn't on their website, despite having his name listed with it in the ad. Am I missing something?

Some multinationals with questionable ethics run amazing advertising campaigns (Coke, Nike). To be honest, I never really love the Mickey Dee spots. At the same time, these are some memorable ones from advertising past:


1967 - McDonald's first national ad. Children of this era may remember one or more of the derisive 'Jingle-Bells-Batman-Smells' variations that it generated. Mcdonalds is the kind of place. They serve you rattlesnakes. They spit right in your shakes. etc.


1969 - eat there! It's cleeeeaaaan!


1980's. McDonald's plus Jet Skis? Brilliant!