McDonald’s Tried This: You Should Not!

by Tom Ruwitch

McDonald’s recently launched a bold outdoor advertising campaign in London. The ads don’t mention the brand. No logo. No product photos. Just a few words, stacked vertically on a blank background.

Here’s an example:
Muffin
Egg
Sausage
Cheese
Muffin

The ad uses McDonald’s distinctive font face in various shades of the logo’s yellow. But those are the only clues.

The words speak for themselves. Egg McMuffin! ‘Nuff said!

This is a cool ad campaign.

But before you get any ideas, small business people, do NOT try this at the home office. You can’t pull this off.

You already know that, though, don’t you?

McDonald’s has massive brand recognition, cultivated over many decades with millions (maybe billions) of dollars. You don’t.

Same goes for Apple and Coca-Cola and Budweiser and Goodyear.
Decades of brand cultivation and millions of dollars enable you to fly a blimp over a stadium and expect that sports fans will, after seeing your logo float in the clouds, buy your tires over the competition’s.

Remember the last time that McDonald’s, Apple, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, or Goodyear explained to you why you should buy their products, why you will benefit?

Yeah, me neither. They don’t advertise that way because they don’t have to.
But you do. You have to write copy and paint pictures and tell stories that help prospects see what they’ll gain (or what pain they’ll lose) if they do business with you.

Too many small businesses focus too much on logos, the “look and feel” of their website and that other stuff that many call “branding.” They pursue a great brand as if it’s the Holy Grail.

Meanwhile, as they engage in this hapless pursuit, they’re neglecting the stories they should tell. They’re not focusing on crafting the tale of how their products and services will fulfill customers’ aspirations and protect them from dreaded outcomes.

Don’t get me wrong… I think a nice logo and an attractive website help a business.

But even the best logo and “branding” won’t help you much unless you’re as big as McDonald’s…

...or unless you tune your story well and help prospects understand why they should do business with you.

Tom Ruwitch recently founded StoryUp Marketing, an agency that helps businesses tune-up their stories so prospects tune-in and buy. More at StoryUpMarketing.com.