Seeing all of the reportedly
“controversial” advertisements in class made me curious as to what other
campaigns there were that had faced heat. During my search, I found a
McDonald’s ad that addressed equal opportunities in a unique way, a way that
ultimately backfired. The ad has a very simple design, with only three real
components: The McDonald’s logo accompanied by it’s slogan, a few lines of text
towards the top, reading, “We don't hire Turks, Greeks, Poles, Indians,
Ethiopians, Vietnamese, Chinese or Peruvians”, and another block of text at the
bottom, in a finer, smaller print, which continues where the first piece left
off. While the ad at first seems outright discriminatory, upon further reading
(of the smaller print), it is made clear that McDonald’s doesn't take a
person’s race into account when hiring, and instead hires based on a person’s
ambition and determination. Not only does the message of the first block of
text help achieve its purpose as a hook, but the simple font, large font size,
and stark contrast with the background also help to promote this to the
audience. The fine print reveals that this was a Swedish ad, so the audience
would be the public of Sweden. More specifically, however, the ad was probably
designed to speak to those seeking employment at a company like McDonald’s. The
advertising agency, DDB, is a company that emphasizes creativity, and has a
worldwide presence. This ad of theirs reflects their drive to speak to people
in new ways. It also reflects the negative effects of a philosophy based on
pushing the boundaries of advertising. While their purpose, which is to show
how McDonald’s values your qualities instead of your complexion, is apparent
once all of the text is read, the small font size of the second block makes it
more likely for someone to ignore it altogether, and miss the message.
Therefore, this ad is not effective.
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