As someone who co-founded and co-owned a coffee company and proudly did not drink coffee (the age-old adage: can’t get high on your own supply), the viral video of the CEO of McDonald’s sheepishly eating their new offering, the Big Arch, is amongst the best executed product introductions I’ve seen.
Full stop.
Think about this: would we be talking about this if Chris Kempczinski had taken a normal-sized bite without appearing like a hostage?
Absolutely not.
Most fast food product launches are, at best, a day-long story that has little legs, if any, to get real traction. McDonald’s took a deliberately inventive approach here to have not just the general public, but even their competitors, talking about their brand and the Big Arch. Here is why this was effective:
(1) The video is intentionally cringe. For a CEO of an internationally recognized fast food restaurant to be on camera in what looks to be a break room from the movie “Office Space” and as being as excited as Ben Stein in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Out” tells you that there is more to the eye than what we see. Calling the sandwich a “product” made it seem even moreso overtly inhuman. Let’s not move past the fact that Kempczinski looks like someone who would rather enjoy an arugula and kale salad than to destroy a couple of smashburgers in a sitting – he isn’t convincing anyone.
(2) Social leaned in. Almost immediately, McDonald’s own social media confirmed the first point. Their team knew that this was pure digital gold: comment and react videos were abound on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc. about the video. Competitors latched onto the post – commenting their own roasty takes.
(3) Even your competitors are talking about you. When your competition is trying to slyly say that their own videos, featuring their chief executives taking larger bites out of their sandwiches than Kempczinski, “wasn’t in response to anything,” you’ve effectively have dominated the conversation. Chains such as Burger King, Wendy’s, and others posted their own videos to showcase their own products, while in effect giving the Big Arch more of a spotlight.
In summary, McDonald’s took what would have been an uninspired “product” launch into cultural and social commentary, effectively raising the profile of both the sandwich (for however long it will be on the market) and the brand itself – along with giving their CEO a bit of visibility too (which is generally never a bad idea).
Written by Joe Bonilla, managing partner and senior media director
