It’s been common knowledge that fast food competitors are quick to attack each other when it comes to their menu item selection. In recent news, Taco Bell was forced to take on McD’s (who controls the majority of the fast food breakfast market) when creating their own breakfast menu option.
McDonald’s was quick to respond with a Twitter post after the announcement was made:
The tweet (and diss) scored 2.4K favorites and 3.2K retweets but wasn’t prepared for the creative minds on Taco Bell’s Public Relations staff.
The taco company then set a commercial campaign into action centered around McDonald’s fictitious and famous celebrity Ronald McDonald, starring actual people named Ronald McDonald. The video in fact is getting a lot of buzz, gathering over 2 million views on YouTube and likely many more after being aired on national television. Taco Bell Public Relations has that humor filled type of style that is share-worthy for many fans. This always brings me back to the belief that “content is king” in this day and age, and the more you can make the more there is to share about your brand’s personality. It’s incredible checking out Taco Bell’s official Twitter and getting the feeling that it is run by a teenager (it totally isn’t but the tone of voice is what’s crucial here). In an age absorbed with viral content what is more amusing than watching two giant corporations (well, McD’s is severely larger, but y’know) rag on each other publicly. And what does this say about Public Relations in this day and age?
Branding has gone to a-whole-nother level when it comes to personifying a business. It has been clear to me in every Communication class I take that the target market is the most essential discovery when it comes to positioning just how you will sell your product. And furthermore just as fictional accounts have been made by fans and used to create a profile for a character from a TV show, game, or movie, now company’s are using this idea to turn their brands into an identifiable entity themselves. It generates an environment where consumers feel comfortable talking with the much larger corporation on a conversational level. This type of tactic is quick to deal with and fun to operate. The only way I see Public Relations advancing through social media from is here is more creatively. With this ever-increasing freedom for companies to produce their own content, the pool of creative thinkers in this field will only become more diverse and more entertaining.
Ads will be here forever, so why not give companies more motivation to charm instead of bore us?