So maybe this response is a little delayed, but what is up with those McDonald coffee commercials?I can appreciate differentiating yourself from the Goliath of Starbucks and maybe a little Mac vs. PC poking fun, but this is a war of the cultures. In the left hand corner we have the ELITES, who are up against THE EVERYDAY JOE. In one ad a woman says, "I don't know where Paraguay is!" to another woman. The two of them take joy in the fact that they no longer have to fake their intelligence because they can just drink their coffee like simple people under the glare of the golden arches. (Author side note: I do know where Paraguay is, so obviously I am above you!)
Unlike all of the other blog posts I've read about McDonald's new take on lattes I'm going to bite my liberal tongue and argue that these MikeyD commercials are a stroke of brilliance.
Wal-Mart Nation: Like it or not kids, we live in a Wal-Mart nation. This type of Sarah Palin "I'm just a simple American" attitude is very popular. Take it from Gretchen Wilson's hit single Red Neck Woman, which reached #22 in the Billboard Top 100. Or the fact that NASCAR has 75 million fans and has just become the 2nd most popular spectator sport.
So to the people of Wal-Mart nation, Starbuck drinkers seem like elitist know-it-alls, and McDonald's just gives them a place to fulfill their caffeine high for the comfortable price of $1.79. Plus, there is no better way to gain loyal followers than making fun of the other side. Think Burger King.
Why Starbucks anyways? It makes us all re-examine why we are paying bank for a beverage that costs 42 cents to make. Someone had to draw attention to this madness eventually. I mean, S-bucks isn't even organic.
Why didn't I think of this? Let's attack Starbucks for selling elitist lattes and then turn around and sell the exact same thing to a different group of people. Pretty much they are just surviving off the coffee culture Starbucks created in the first place. Without Starbuck's lead there would be little want for a McCafe. Genius. The devils sort of genius.
There's a catch. Are customers going to exchange their comfy chairs at Starbucks to the bolted down tables of McDonalds? If someone is unhappy with Starbucks don't you think they would try Dunn Brothers or Caribou first? But maybe that's not the point. Maybe the point is that jazz playing coffee shops are not your only options for caramel lattes.
All I have to say is God Bless America
Monday, September 15, 2008
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8 comments:
Really interesting post, and good timing by McDs
You speak the truth. Agencies need to get over our Nascar Blindness.
Great post. To answer your last question about giving up the comfortable atmosphere at Starbucks to chill out at McDonald's...I think that the fact that a lot of McDonald's now have wifi will certainly help attract the coffeehouse crowd. I think if they did away with all the Playplaces in favor of some sort of "lounge" for coffee drinkers they would really be on to something. But as long as they have the giant jungle gyms that cater to rambunctious children, I don't know how many people would be willing to sit at McDonald's for an extended period of time and relax while drinking their coffee.
Me again...On the other hand, maybe those with kids would like to sit there and watch their kids play in the Playplaces while drinking coffee they didn't have to pay through the nose for!
Thanks for the post Coffee Fan. I think that McDonalds is already a place for mothers to meet up and let their kids run off some steam, especially during those winter months. But they could position it as a place to relax and get your latte too. I was surprised that they are targeting such young consumers and I think it might have been more of a natural connection if they targeted busy, penny pinching mothers. Plus, people with children are always glared at in S-bucks.
Interesting... I've been trying to force myself into watching NASCAR (I watched my first complete race a couple of weeks ago) to try and understand this "average American" mindset. (We all know that I am not, nor will I ever be, a patriotic, gun-slinging, po-dunk Conservative, but it's nice to try and understand what they're all about.) I might just have to do a study. Thesis perhaps? (Just kidding.)
Okay, one more thing. A quick overview of the NASCAR craze, with everything from the anatomy of a stock car to what the different flags mean. At least now you'll be able to fake it.
I like these, because it says "We understand regular Joes and Janes like good coffee, but not the coffee shop scene"
My dad very much disliked going into Starbucks or Caribou for "frou-frou coffee." He always went to McD's because he said they make good coffee and he didn't feel out of place.
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