An ad that finally has a behavioural insight

Finally came across a very simple McDonald's ad with an amazing insight at the heart of it.

Called IMPATIENCE (by Oniria\TBWA in Paraguay, directed by Sebastián Sorera), it shows people digging into the bag of their order and munching on fries as they try to close the lift, get into their car, or wait at the drive-thru.

There are two interesting things here.

First, the idea of impatience. McDonald's personifies the fast food category. People arrive already hungry and don't want to spend much time figuring out WHAT to eat.

But the thing that really gave me goosebumps was the idea of digging into the fries. And that is universal.

Any order, whether online, dine-in or takeaway, that comes with a bag of fries, the fries are usually the first thing people grab and munch on before they even open the burger.

That's what makes this ad so good, and one I truly enjoyed watching: a human insight at its heart.

It's a category-generic insight, yes. But what makes it truly McDonald's is the product people can't resist. The famous fries don't need a sales pitch here. They just need to be shown being irresistible. The salty, crispy potatoes that smell heavenly are not something anyone can resist grabbing a few of and stuffing in their mouth.

Looking at it through a cultural lens, we live in a restless world where convenience is a commodity. People rush to get somewhere only to sit and do nothing but stare at their phones. The elevator is the perfect example: a few seconds of forced waiting that we now fill with a phone, or in this case, fries. In that world, digging into the bag is not just about hunger. It feeds the restlessness of everyday life. Why wait to reach the desk or table when the party can start en route?

It's also interesting that the ads cover not just in-store consumption but takeaways too. It shows McDonald's serving people who love it enough to eat it in the store, and also to carry it home or to the office.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We elect archetypes not politicians

The recent victory by TVK, led by Joseph Vijay, the superstar, made me look Tamil Nadu politics from the lens of a curious strategist.  Tamil Nadu has a long standing love affair with Cinema Politics. It's a state that has managed to convert reel power, superstardom to a political machinery for governance. And it has a track record of 6 decades. Vijay isn't an aberration, he is the norm proving the fundamental system. But as a strategist, I felt that this state doesn't elect politicians but archetypes and characters who are required for the story of the times.   Each of these people become successful when their party's manifesto resonates and aligns with the unmet needs of the voters and resolves the cultural contradiction of the times. Their archetypes truly shine when all of these align. Let's start with Karunanidhi .  He came to power as a highly educated, intellectual and powerful orator, script writer and the architect of pushing the Dravidian philosophy to the...
Read more

The power of persuasion - lessons from kids

We assume that we have a lot to teach kids. Reality is that they learn 90% of the things themselves - and the 10% comes from what we tell and teach them. We have a lot to learn from them instead. One such thing is the art of persuasion.  And they have some really compelling lesson for media strategists, agencies and marketers. Kids have 2 ways to get their way. The first is the irritating power of pester.  They eat into your skin and sink deep into the vicissitudes of your rational mind and push your possible patience to a threshold limit until you give up. They nag you, ask you the same question again, and again, and again, and again, and again and again.... until you cave. Ýou'd do anything to shut them up from further embarassing yourself in the environment and to, most importantly - get them off your back, your skin, your now throbbing head. The other way they ask for something is in their ever sweet, high potent cuteness and purposeful innocence. They know you can't resis...
Read more

Ads you need to hear - not just see

Image
Ad films are meant to be highly engaging. Created to make people lean in and and avoid that skip button or resist the temptation of thumb scrolling to the next video on Facebook or Instagram that most often - automatically play. Agencies hire creative talent that understand the power of human emotions and can create films that make ads memorable, and brands recognizable - and most importantly - are able to tell amazing stories in less than 90 seconds.  Storytelling is an art. We've consumed so many great stories that have an amazing cast, a beautiful and engaging script, a highly reputed director, music that play to the beats of our heart - matching tempo to the emotion conveyed, peaking at the right times, and so many other smaller yet significant intricate things that come together to make us feel something.  There are millions of such amazing campaigns where all of this can be easily demonstrated.  But how often have we seen a film that does all that with just typograp...
Read more