sjbooher: I’m not even sure if this technically qualifies as it was pre-kickoff, but I’m including it. Nice little remake of the O.G. Jordan/Bird McDonald’s H.O.R.S.E. ad. They captured the spirit of the original but tweaked to cater to LeBron and Howard. And nice little joke at the end with the guys not recognizing Bird. B+
jtherkal: I’m not a huge fan of remakes, but you can’t deny true star power. There’s nothing really wrong with this commercial, but there’s nothing spectacular. It’s sort of like we’re playing horse. You give it a B+, so do I. No letters. B+. Next.
jtherkal: I want to hate this, but I can’t. I think it might be so bad it’s good. And I can already guess that my associate has some sort of strange dance he does every time this comes on. Thinking about that makes me laugh. Plus, you know there’s a nation of ten year old kids dancing at the dinner table while they eat their McDonald’s. In light of these facts, I’m upgrading the C+ I had intended to give it to an A. A.
sjbooher: This is actually the first time I’ve seen this, and despite some reservations, I love it. There is a serious social discussion we could get into here about diet problems in the black community and how McDonald’s has continually misused and misrepresented black culture in their advertising to exploit/enhance these problems, but I’ll hold that for another time. While this ad toes the line, and Jay-Z would not approve (this is a perfect example of what the God MC was talking about here), I think the quality shines through. As a standalone ad, it’s perfect. Set against the backdrop of Mickey D’s history… things get a little murkier. And the Cha Cha Slide? Shouldn’t this have come out 10 years ago? A.
jtherkal: Finally, a McDonald’s ad that isn’t brain-hurtingly repulsive. Why is it so hard for the world’s top fast-food corporation to make a commercial that doesn’t suck? You don’t need to show me much more than McDonald’s food to make me want it. The mere mention of Big Mac or Chicken McNuggets gets my gullet churning. And this ad does just that: focus on food, food, and more food. Add in a little bit of witty banter–including a Mexican and French accent–and you’ve met all the requirements for a successful McD’s commercial. I also like the “dollar menu family” idea. But why would a family be meeting in a board room? If you’re going to have a dollar menu family, put them in a car on a vacation. Or maybe in a living room watching television. Put the food somewhere that families actually eat it and you’ll have an almost perfect McDonald’s commercial. A-.
sjbooher: I like it. That feeling is probably bolstered by the low expectations going into any McDonald’s ad, but even without the context of their terrible history, I think this one stands up fairly well. It’s a clever idea with decent execution (I agree with my associate’s suggestions, especially the setting). A-.
jtherkal: Who knew this ad would trigger an angry mob of pro-adoption folks. The posting on YouTube has a growing list of comments debating whether or not this is offensive. I personally don’t think it’s offensive to adopted people; I think it’s offensive to French people. The fries aren’t upset about the idea of being adopted. They don’t want to be related to the parfait because of the reputation the French have as an elitist, snobbish people. Where are all of the outraged Frenchmen? And aren’t we looking a little hard for something to be offended about?