McCafe Print ad

An effective ad or an even bigger reason to stay away from Maccy D’s?

As I stumbled upon this ad I couldn’t help but ask myself two questions. Firstly what on earth is that horrible looking image? And secondly, what the hell has McDonald’s   got to do with it? Is it a burger? I should hope not, although I wouldn’t be surprised. After tilting my head in every direction my neck would allow and squinting my eyes  for a few minutes, the proverbial light bulb switched on and I clicked. The image portrayed in the ad is in fact a coffee bean. Had it not been for the “McCafe” text and the natural associations one makes with a café and coffee who knows how long my poor mind would have been baffled for.  Is this ad an effective one?  Let’s see shall we.

McCafé first opened in Australia in 1994. It has a matured market in Europe and has recently been introduced into the U.S. and in Asia, McCafé is available in Singapore and Hong Kong and soon, Malaysia!

I think it’s safe to say that Mcafe is gradually on the rise as it attempts to spin off from the well-known and established McDonalds brand.  The McDonalds brand is widely recognized all over the world, when one sees that big yellow M you cannot help but think of big Mac’s, quarter pounders, supersized fries and heart attacks. Majority of people who indulge in the occasional quarter pounder and fries are: let’s put this lightly, slightly horizontally challenged. Ah what the hell these people are fat. If I were a stereotypical McDonalds ‘fatty’ and I had to see this ad the last thing that would be on my mind would be a nice warm cup of coffee.  My eyes would go straight to that big yellow M and my tummy would begin to crave those delicious fries and quarter pounder I know and love.  If the intention of this ad was to encourage regular McDonalds eating fatties to make use of the McCafe’s offerings I believe it has failed. These fatties don’t want coffee and apple pies , they want the same big Mac they eaten for the last 20 years.

If the intention of this ad was to convert the stereotypical coffee drinker to make use of the McCafe’s services they may as well have fallen flat on their face because they have failed miserably. There are two types of people in this world. Those that love McDonalds. And those who can’t stand it. If you are one of the latter and you stumbled upon this ad I don’t care how much you love coffee, your eyes will immediately be drawn to that infamous big yellow M and you will slowly swallow your vomit and move on.  

So I beg the question is this an effective print ad? No, its crap.