Following the debacle that was the release of Supersize Me a few years ago, and the ensuing backlash against fast food and McDonald’s in particular, the company was forced to rethink it’s marketing strategies to appeal to both recapture it’s old demographic, and to find a way to appeal to the younger, more health-conscious generation who was suddenly turning against them. This included many new menu items, such as smaller, lower calorie snack wraps and a multitude of salads, but also involved new marketing campaigns.
Notably, McDonald’s now focuses on two groups: children and young adults between about 18 and 30. In these two ads (although one is Dutch… it has the same idea…) we see the two audiences being targeted with different strategies: namely, childhood successes and a break from the boredom of routine, respectively. As well, their website is designed in a way that is colourful and engaging yet simple, to appeal to both of these demographics.
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/