Four-hour YouTube ad aims to grab attention
In the ever-changing TORONTO landscape of advertising, anything goes — even a seemingly neverending video of a breakfast sandwich being prepared.
Earlier this week, McDonald’s posted a four-hour video on YouTube featuring continuous loops of bacon frying, tomatoes being sliced, lettuce drying and other types of food preparation — all designed to draw eyeballs to its new Zesty BLT More-Ning McWrap.
The fast-food giant doesn’t really expect consumers to watch all four hours of the content, but it does hope you’ll do a double-take and possibly have a good laugh.
With people spending more time online and being inundated with all types of content, McDonald’s says it’s focusing more of its marketing efforts on developing unconventional digital ads that will resonate with the right target — in this case, millennials. McDonald’s senior advertising manager, Melanie Courtois explains that the four-hour McWrap video features “a few fun facts throughout,” which consumers can identify on Facebook and Twitter contests in exchange for gift certificates.
Liz Dunn, chief executive at brand strategy consultant Talmage Advisors in New York City, says in today’s media landscape, most retailers, brands and restaurants are having a very difficult time reaching consumers.
“Consumers are very easily distracted. They’re constantly on their phones and really pretty numb to traditional marketing efforts, so it just becomes background noise,” says Dunn. “So I think a lot of brands are trying to rise above the fray and capture consumers’ attention with more urgent calls to action or some sort of event, or something that really breaks through the rest of the noise and creates a reason to purchase.”