BrandDigital | BrandSimple: The Blog

So many brands today spend so much time searching for new and different ways to promote their products, they often overlook a core brand equity that’s right in front of their nose, or taste buds, as the case may be. Not McDonald’s. In its most recent branding efforts, the company decided to serve up its iconic Big Mac sandwich by reintroducing the spirited jingle: “Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.” Taking advantage of many digital tools and tactics available to marketers today, the company has asked consumers to write their own songs using the exact words of this jingle which was created in 1974 by Keith Reinhard and his team from the agency Needham, Harper & Steers.

While Reinhard and his colleagues had only a guitar to help in the creation of this mnemonic tune, the folks at McDonald’s are well aware that the Internet provides consumers with an incredible array of innovative widgets with which to share in the brand-building fun. And smart as they are, the company also knows that engaging consumers in brand-building is one of the many new success factors made possible by digital technology. While one might think that because MySpace users are too young to remember the original jingle and that its reintroduction online would be a losing proposition, McDonald’s saw it as the incredible opportunity it was – the chance to reach the consumers they wanted to reach exactly where they hang out; online. Like all effective branding initiatives, this one is based on the simple premise of its differentiated ingredients. It doesn’t matter a bit that MySpace users are too young to remember the old ads or the original jingle. If they didn’t know it before, they know now what goes into making a uniquely delicious hamburger sandwich. And, they know when a company makes its branding efforts relevant to the space in which they live.