A McDonald’s Lesson In Consistency

This year's Raise Your Arches campaign from McDonald's UK was a straight hit among advertising professionals, and has even received praise outside the marketing bubble.

So what makes the campaign so special? The trick is that the ad features not a single product or restaurant. There’s also no dialogue going on, nor does the McDonald’s logo ever appear on screen. Yet it is immediately and undeniably clear that you’re looking at McDonald’s.

“Let that sink in for a minute. McDonald’s has gotten to the point that they can even claim a facial expression as a brand attribute of their own.”

Can we stop for a happy meal?

For decades, McDonald’s has worked hard at establishing their brand by consistently using the same brand attributes. Think of the red-yellow color scheme, iconic products such as the BigMac and Happy Meal, the jingle (ba-ba-ba-ba-baaaa, I'm loving it) and of course the yellow M. I can’t even begin to count the times I passed the big yellow M on the highway as a kid and I immediately started begging for a Happy Meal.

It’s precisely because those brand attributes are so deeply ingrained in our collective conscience that the brand can now create an ad that intentionally does not feature any single one of them. Because just seeing a hand-drawn M on a post-it does the trick. The raised eyebrows that playfully dance up and down are also immediately recognizable as a nod to those iconic yellow arches that form the M.

Let that sink in for a minute. McDonald's has gotten to the point that they can even claim a facial expression as a brand attribute of their own.

The lesson here

So what’s the take away here?

It is the consistency with which McDonald’s has used their brand attributes in all their advertising over the decades that you should see as inspiration and try to apply to your own work. Not to literally be able to make an advertisement without a single product or brand asset in it, but because consistency boosts advertising effectiveness.

Consistently applying your brand attributes increases the chances that your audience recognises your brand, which will make your ads more effective. Think of everything from color, design elements, your logo, a jingle, photography to even the fonts you use.

It is not only important that you apply these consistently in your advertising and communication, but also that it corresponds with touch points in the store or on your website. So aim for consistency across all your channels.

Beware the rebranding trap

And I don’t mean for a few months or even a year. When you start to feel utterly fed up with your logo or jingle, you know you’re on to something. Don’t forget, the yellow M of McDonald’s has been around for more than 50 years for a reason.

So don’t get sucked in if your marketing colleagues start fantasising about a rebranding just because they feel like looking at something new. Or even worse: if your newly appointed marketing director starts talking about a fresh new appearance before even understanding the brand.

Thank them kindly for the initiative, but then firmly slap them in the face. Because you don’t want to lose the basic familiarity with the brand that you’ve worked hard on to build. And don’t forget that your average consumer doesn’t care at all about what font or color logo you use.

A final example

Let’s finally look at another example here from National Geographic. For at least 25 years we have known the brand for the yellow frame which appears not only on their magazines but also in their TV channel’s logo. (What is it with yellow logos?)

There’s an actual physical yellow frame around this billboard.

The product of this consistent and possibly boring work is that they can now pull off these kinds of fun tricks. I spotted this billboard in my hometown the other day. If you cycle past it, you immediately know that you are looking at National Geographic, even without trying to read the poster itself. And of course there’s also the fact that this ad really stands out physically which makes it grab your attention.

This demonstrates the power of consistency in advertising, which is the result of decades of effort. If you’re bored, you’re doing it right.

At least if you want to find your way to your target’s wallet.