Big Mac? Tasteless.

McDonald’s made the mistake of toying with tragedy.

Advertisements were spotted (as seen blow) that attempt to play on the lighter side of depression, relating it to the Big Mac. Big Mistake.

The world-renowned fast food chain claims that it was all an error in ad processing, and that the advertisement hit the streets before it had been finalized and approved.

According to a spokesperson, McDonalds absolutely does not believe that depression should be trivialized.

What can be done during a mistake like this for a company as huge as McDonalds?

-Apologize. No matter what has happened, offer your condolences with those who have been offended or affected as quickly as possible. McDonald’s response was factual to their disconnection of the incident and closed with their sincere regrets.

-Have those who made the mistake admit it. Lucky for McDonalds, they got on this right away and the president of the ad house quickly issued a statement to The Huffington Post that it had no approval from McDonalds to print the advertisement.

-Take them down. Quick. The tasteless advertisement only appeared in the Massachusetts Bay area. Upon notification of the incident, McDonalds successfully had every ad pulled.

McDonalds had a phenomenal response, what else would be expected of the fast food super giant? Even Perez Hilton recognized that it was merely a slip-up.

 

 Their highest concern now should be the close speculation of their advertising. This advertisement went viral, another one would be epic. As with all crises, that close eye may very well be the type of attention that McDonald’s would love to have.

Here’s a video highlighting more advertising flubs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpTiSd-Ugc

Brand Distrust: Do the numbers mean everything?

Do fancy letters and the science behind advertising really matter?

Most consumers claim that they are persuaded most by the reports that they receive from their friends and family members. Truth be told, I would answer the question the same way. These numbers are displayed in the North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey.

No one wants to choose a brand over the word of someone that they trust. But this forces me to beg the question, why do they trust them to make their purchasing decisions?

Mashable makes a noteworthy comment on the findings, concluding that “pull” advertising is much more important than ever in history. The traditional “push” advertising by mere force is losing its effectiveness.

A recommendation sounds like it is something consciously examined in a case by case evaluation. From firsthand experience, I don’t believe that is really how we are sold.

Persuasion takes place when someone is browsing and their friend comments “that looks so cute!” or “I really wanted to try that!” It is spur of the moment and inspired by the environment that we are in.

Advertising effectiveness is defined by Small Business Chron as:

-Reach
-Sales and Profits
-Brand Awareness

The truth is, as Brand Strategy Insider details, that as it becomes easier to monitor the growth of your brand, the inspiration for that growth is sometimes harder to map. (Just last week, Google launched a new app on Mobile Advertising results.)

Brand awareness plays a key role in that decision making roll than we think. What was your friend looking at? What were they considering? Are you seeking to be cutting edge and impress that person?

Return on Investment is unpredictable, and this current reliance upon recommendations makes it even more difficult to know if your advertising is doing its job or not. In a time where advertising is under speculation it calls companies to be even more loyal to their product/brand integrity. But it’s certainly not the end, and the old saying that knowledge is power is steady as ever.

To learn a little more on Ad Tracking, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zU6cRnRBxk