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McDonald's Uses The Sun on it's New Billboard

chicagobusiness.com — Check this out. Very clever advertising. Personally, I love billboard advertising to show something about your product of service no one has ever seen before.

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  • Aidenag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+43that one is up there with the Steaming cup's of coffee over manhole covers... somebody got a promotion after comin up with this, thats for sure...
    • Dochtuir, on 10/12/2007, -15/+5Hope they put a warning label on it
    • RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -11/+90Very creative way to advertise horrible food.
    • legolasegb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Advertising makes the product (cf. Britney Spears)
    • webcrumb, on 10/12/2007, -25/+14"somebody got a promotion after comin up with this"

      Actually, you would want to quit... you'd never come up with anything as original again, but the expectation would be there.

      "So, Jim, have you come up with another totally original and unexpected advertising hook? No? Pity. Remember we need something by Friday." etc.
    • 2damntall, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27@webcrumb: That's a bleak outlook. Fear of success much?
    • jwhicks727, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Interesting advertising, but whoever wrote the blurb is a douchebag. "Personally, I love billboard advertising to show something about your product of service no one has ever seen before." Who has an opinion on ***** billboard advertising? Geez.
    • caliform, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Whoever digged webcrumb down has some sort of fantasy fairy world association with the advertising business. Hey, it's true.
    • bitcloud, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Oh yeah... steaming cups of coffee! the sweet smell of effluence... I'm getting thirsty just thinking about it...

      Now what the BLF needs to do is replace the images with pictures of a healthy looking person on the left slowly getting fatter, pastier and spotter...

      I'm waiting
    • ewap8, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Super Size ME!!
  • usernamed, on 10/12/2007, -43/+5Cool, I love innovative advertising, but your title is kind of misleading, I expecting to see a new sun logo.
    • griz, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15What part of the title would give you this idea?
    • Cine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I thought they were using the UK newspaper The Sun, seeing as 'The' was capitalized. This is far better, though.
    • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5they need a moon dial, or at night I'll be too indecisive to know what to get there
    • killroy42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Probably the capital "T", capital "S" spelling. I kept thinking of "The Sun" UK tabloid ;)
  • Foosballist, on 10/12/2007, -26/+10Damn daylight savings time would screw their numbering up.
    • helikopter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16if you read the article, it's only staying up until august. so they won't have to worry about it.
  • nhowe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6i digg... i also like the sprite sublymenol hypnotize billboard (pocketwatch swinging back and forth from chain) on sunset blvd.
    • borchard76, on 10/12/2007, -56/+7It is spelled subliminal.

      I don't usually post spelling-nazi type stuff, but in this case I had to really think about what you where trying to say. The spelling was bad enough that I had to really work at it. I haven't seen the billboard you are describing, so I can't really comment on that.

      The McDonald's one is neat, though. I can't see why it made digg, but cool enough.
    • mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+32Sprite is spelling it "Sublymonal" to accent the fact that it is lemon-lime flavored
    • webcrumb, on 10/12/2007, -11/+7Wouldn't "Sublemonal" be better? Or even "Sublemonalime" ?
    • webcrumb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Sorry, I suppose it's meant to be pronounced sub-lime-onal. I pronounce lym like lim (see lynx, lyx, onyx etc).

      Or is there a special US flavour "lymon" which is lemon+lime? In the UK this has been called "limon" ...

      Anyhow...

      [/downdiggable]
    • Thuktun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10"Lymon" is a Coca-Cola trademark used to describe Sprite's taste.

      http://sev.prnewswire.com/advertising/20060518/CLTH03218052006-1.html
    • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5They couldn't really use "Limon", as that's the spanish word for lemon. The downside is that the spelling it "Lyme" is the same as Lyme disease. DOH!
  • Tatusmi, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4this is great... definatly would grab my attention. I'm in the mood for a Bacon&Egg Bagel now...
    • Grimdotdotdot, on 10/12/2007, -11/+8Christ, really?
      I don't think I'll ever be in the mood for anything involving McDonalds 'egg'.
    • cybergoat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Dammit, now I want one too, and I don't even especially like McDonald's food. Great advertising concept though, it's cool to see innovation in such a mature adverstising field.
    • JeffT1545, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9The bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle is where it's at.
    • coolspray, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I guess that proves advertising works... or at least the addictive chemicals (I'm guessing there is one?) in McDonalds works...
    • endgames, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Grimdotdotdot,
      McDonalds egg is about the only thing I would eat from there. It's the only product they get fresh. I served my time at McDonalds in school and can vouch that they are in fact real hand cracked eggs.
    • Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2"real hand cracked eggs."

      Wait. Real? Or.... realistic? ;-)

      Reminds me of an old Squidi comic: "My boyfriend's not real?" "Well, he's realistic..."
    • eggo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@endgames, that is true only for the round eggs (the ones cooked in the little Teflon circle) anything with scrambled "eggs" in fact came from a carton (think milk carton, not egg carton) that sits next to the grill from opening 'till lunchtime. I can't remember what the stuff was called, but I remember that the word "egg" was conspicuously absent. We called them "ova of the damned".
    • davidro, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I would take either option over Dunkin' Donuts brand of "egg": pre-scrambled, pre-cooked, and stored in a refrigerated drawer for up to a week. It's microwaved when the order is placed.
  • kent1146, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13Oh man, that billboard is friggin awesome. I hate McDonalds, and think that they are the ebul pirates that will cause 33% of the US to get diabetes, but props to their advertising folks.
    • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23What? How does a place to get food cause people to get diabetes? I think it's the people who make the choice to eat the food who should be responsible.
    • Quactaur, on 10/12/2007, -11/+6Because they pile in extra crap. McDonalds in the USA has almost 3 times more fat, portion for portion, than Continental (i.e. Europe) outlets of the franchise, and by piling in all ths extra energy that will be unused in the body, it increases the chance of Insulin intolerance.

      I hate mcdonalds food anyway. A burger from them has fat and cholestoral to clog a small town's plumbing network, and leave you feeling just as hungry as before, but more lethargic.
    • hockeygoon15, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14"by piling in all ths extra energy that will be unused in the body, it increases the chance of Insulin intolerance."
      meaning: it's fine to eat mcdonalds as long as you GET OFF YOUR FAT ASS AND ACTUALLY DO SOME PHYSICAL ACTIVITY to burn off said energy. the problem isn't with the fast food companies, it's with lazy americans

      note: born and raised in new york
    • mjohnson2112, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It was done through an outside agency, Leo Burnett, not by McDonald's in house folks. Which explains why it's not just a picture of an something you can supposedly get there (never resembling the picture of course).
    • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -9/+9"Because they pile in extra crap. McDonalds in the USA has almost 3 times more fat, portion for portion, than Continental (i.e. Europe) outlets of the franchise, and by piling in all ths extra energy that will be unused in the body, it increases the chance of Insulin intolerance."

      SO DON'T GO TO A MCDONALDS!

      If you don't like it, don't go. If you do go, don't blame them for your fat ass. You chose to go there!

      ***** liberal assholes. Take responsibility for your ***** actions. Go cry me a river.
    • Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1All those additives don't help one bit. I'm not a big organic health nut, but it is best to stay as close to nature as conveniant. And I'll say this: Most fast food places don't break my body as bad as McDonalds.
    • Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2@ Lyph4: Of-*****-course he doesn't go to Mc-E-dee's. He's saying "I recomend other people not go there for this and that reason."

      Also, be more pleasant to read. All that yelling and cussing is tiresome to read.
    • Lyph4, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@ Lyph4: Of-*****-course he doesn't go to Mc-E-dee's. He's saying "I recomend other people not go there for this and that reason."

      Typical liberal *****. "I don't like it, so you shouldn't do it/go there!"

      Why don't you let me do what I want, and you can do what you want?

      I like McGriddles and Big Macs. I don't expect them to be healthy.

      So, it boils down to: ***** you and die.
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Quactaur:

      You don't like McDs. okay. But don't make up lies to back up your opinions.

      1/4P w/cheese in UK:
      http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/53999.html
      516 calories. 26.7g fat. 13.3g sat fat. No trans fat figure.

      1/4P w/cheese in Us:
      http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html
      510 calories, 25 g fat. 12g sat fat. 1 g trans fat.

      They're nearly the same. Stop making up false info.
  • Hawk2007, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7now that's clever advertising...
  • CNAIF, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9cool way to advertise, still crappy food though
  • mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5cool advertising... good food...
  • ryaninc, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3That's really cool! And I like McDonald's breakfasts! :-) Very clever, me likes...
  • snipes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very clever...very cool.
  • mrdallaway, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8"It's"?
    • lordjafar, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1The grammar on digg is absolutely appalling - i agree.

      The thing I hate most is 'less' instead of 'fewer' !!!
    • kacymartin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4you mean you hate it more than loose instead of lose?
    • JeffT1545, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7I'd rather see a thoughtful post with poor grammar than 50 comments of "Cool! Bad food though." or "Brilliant!" - much like this thread.
    • jrking, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1My pet peeve (seen on digg and lots of other sites) is "prolly" instead of probably. I know it's not bad spelling as much as it is kids trying to be cool, but it just gets to me for some reason. Oh, and to make this a relevant comment, I think the sign is cool, too. ;)
  • fudgebrown, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2It made me want to go out and eat 16 McGriddles (barf).
  • brendanc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The only thing I'd ever eat at McDonalds, would be their Egg McMuffin. But I usually go to Starbucks or elsewhere to get one, because they taste better. Oh, and I'd drink the orange juice as well, since McDonalds doesn't make it.

    But that aside, I think it's an awesome ad.
    • Desolite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6the only thing i ever get is bottled dasani water, they can't make that unhealthy... can they??
    • Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3They were creative with the adverts... who says they can't be creative with thier water?
    • Sukino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You'd go to mcdonald's to buy tap water?
  • Computer_Kid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Instead of forcing us to not fastforward, the need to get creative like this!
  • Nougat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2That increases the number of marketing professionals that I don't utterly despise to one.
  • skaughtm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3ridiculous that so much thought and innovation goes into selling us *****.
  • mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3BK is better... but fast food is soooo good... but like anything good, u shouldnt do too much of it...
  • DonSchenck, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Now if the billboard would just fall on that creeep "King"...
  • blatherskyte, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1brilliant
  • derdfike, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1Oh, that's just great. McDonald's now symbolizes the ever flowing sustenance and radiance of the life-giving star that streams forth energy and light to all beings. Excellent. I think it's time to pound 15 Big Macs now. Yukkk
  • creighton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's ironic that outdoor advertising is coming through as one of the more innovative ad forms, even as it is one of the most low-tech, oldest forms of marketing. The insipid dolts screaming about their products all night on infomercials that have lowered the bar for advertising could take a lesson from some of these cool, outside-the-mainstream outdoor campaigns.
  • RabidFox, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The only thing I see wrong is that the fries are at 11 and not 10:30. Everyone knows (read: has been screwed by the fact that) breakfast stops at 10:30.

    Still a pretty cool idea.
  • grooviekenn, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1If you liked this you should check out http://blog.coolz0r.com. I've seen some very unique marketing and advertisement ideas here.
  • mayhemt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4if u watch closer, the next billboard has a beer or wine sort of beverage, so obvisouly during evening hours due to late sunset hours, the sun dial would point to beer....wooooohoooo!!!!
  • gambl0r, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I thought the title meant the tabloid at first... because of the capitalization.

    But this is much cooler! :D
  • GhengisKhan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1MMMMM McGriddles
  • PartTimePunk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's a very ingenious way to advertise I have to admit, though I don't much enjoy McDonalds food at all. Sorry I couldn't come up with anything better to write about economy or this and that, everything has pretty much already been said.
    • Inbal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1To everybody's knowledge: commenting isn't mandatory. (Although the attempt to contribute is appreciated.)
  • furo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'm not much into the message advertising has to pass along, but I love creativity. It's why super bowl commercials are so popular. Nobody gives a crap about what's being hawked... just the manner in which it is being delivered. Many of my favorite, most memorable ads are for products I have not, or will never purchase. This particular billboard scores highly for creativity and design.

    -Furo
  • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Very cool.
  • Narpas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Screwed up reply. Sorry.
  • MindTrigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Cool idea. McDonalds still sucks though. Do yourselves a favor and go rent "Super Size Me".

    I was told by a guy at work that McDonalds doesn't even grill their burger patties in many stores now. He said they just throw them in a microwave. I went down to the local one here and checked it out. Sure as hell, no burgers are being grilled there.
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Rented Super Size Me. That caused me to do some actual research into the fast food I eat and find that the particular sandwiches (burgers) I eat at McDonalds, Wendy's and In-n-Out aren't too bad as far as meat-based foods go. The sandwiches (burgers) I eat at Carl's Jr. and Jack in the Box are many many times worse. Your mileage may vary, since you likely eat different sandwiches at the different places than I do.

      I really like Morgan Spurlock, both Super Size Me and 30 days. (30 Days returns July 26th) But you shouldn't take what he did more seriously than he did. He showed both sides, he says he still eats at McDonalds from time to time. Don't eat McDonalds every meal every day, and don't eat until you throw up (as he did) and you won't have as many problems as he did.
    • betobeto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0In-N-Out rules. Their fries are the real deal. Every time I travel to LA for business I just gotta stop for a Double-Double at least once.
    • mecole21, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1ummm I'm not sure about McDonald's but BK has a grill... its a giant conveyer belt and then after they are grilled they are put in trays that keep them warm and then when a burger is order... it is made (bun, ketchup, etc) and put in the microwave for a few seconds just to warm it up... im sure McDonald's is similar...
  • yanathin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What if one day it's actually not sunny? I mean, I'd understand something like this in Pheonix or San Diego or something, but Chicago? They don't get the best weather.
    • darrickc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Also, what happens after noon? The shadow will be cast on the stuff to the right of the sign, still pretty cool though.
    • cannucklehead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Good point, I would also think that unless the shadow producing 'M' rotates, the shadow would be skewed a fair amount in the morning. Still, a great design.
  • diggduggjoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I stopped by McDs while in a hurry recently and picked up the nutrition info, too. I am not sure I am going back anytime soon. The Deluxe Breakfast has 11 grams of trans fat! Checking out the rest of the menu shows that most everything has trans fat in it, even the basic hamburger. Geez......

    It is confusing, too. When I worked there over 15 years ago the only difference between a hamburger and a cheeseburger was the cheese. The same cheese was used on the Egg McMuffin. Yet, their info shows that the cheeseburger has more fat than the hamburger, but the Egg McMuffin has none. Huh? They have breakfast vs lunch/dinner cheese slices now? It is likely a screw up or they have only recently changed the cheese formula. Anyway the menu really shrinks if you avoid trans fat.

    Check it out.:
    http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html
  • bluehouse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1More credit needs to go the designers and engineers and less to McDonalds. They didn't come up the idea.
  • VirgoanVenom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Okay, that idea is clever as hell, but it doesn't change the fact that McDonalds' food is poision.
  • ffachopper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Now that's a great advertisement! I love how creative people can get sometimes.
  • ForbesBingley, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1So we see advertising making use of the movement of the sun?

    Is this an advert circa the times of The Flintstones? C'mon, guys .. boring!
    • betobeto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0But you gotta admit how come no one had thought of this before, wouldn't you?
  • SalMoriarty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2you have to love the fact that as the day goes on, it will eventually point to the stella ad in the background
  • slade95816, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"It's" in this headline is grammatically incorrect: "It's" is a contraction of "it is".
  • LLXerxes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0An innovative way to sell revolting stuff. I wouldn't be suprised if some people actually followed the 'clock' 6-12
  • jamthedude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0All hail the amazing minds behind today's propaganda machine! Just because its clever doesn't make it noble and worthy of your admiration.
  • scharlj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just wish people knew how to spell....it's always the same story...the difference between it's and its...didn't you people go to school? The headline should read ITS not IT'S. It's actually amazing to see this particular mistake even being made by professional writers. I see at least 2 instances of this daily, sometimes even on cnn.com or other reputable news pages. It drives me nuts!!!
  • ohnnyj, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1“As competition heats up, we want to make sure we have the value, variety and convenience customers look for,” Mr. Jackson says.

    Notice how he doesn't mention quality.
  • zortz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i hate to say it, but thats a great idea.
  • fino35, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Jack in the Box's Breakfast Chibatta conquers all.
  • markg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i hate mcdonalds, but i love this. nice job, ad agency
  • supremo13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I saw someone throw up under this billboard Saturday night. I don't know if it was from the McDonalds a half block away or from the Cubby Bear 20 feet away.
  • sbcheesecake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0the brilliant way to catch eyes
  • superzorn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I can't believe it! I couldn't see any graphics in IE7 or FF.
  •  

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