A lot of internal issues can cause advertisements to fail. Everything from offensive material to a lack of excitement turns consumers off, but something often forgotten is how advertisements are also influenced by the context in which they are placed. In fact, even the most effective ad can become an epic failure when the authors are not aware of its surroundings.
The pictures above are examples of bad ad placements for McDonalds. Even though the brand is attempting to get away from its unhealthy and fattening image, placing an ad under a billboard about childhood obesity only reminds consumers about the relationship McDonalds has with unhealthiness. Similarly, having a coupon placed near the headline “Study: 70 percent of Americans will be overweight by 2020” almost makes McDonalds seem like it is mocking the seriousness of obesity and even encouraging consumers to reach that 70 percent mark. This paired with publicity about McDonalds being sued for making girls overweight does not help the brand accomplish its goal of becoming leaner and healthier.
Now, one thing to consider in these examples is McDonalds may not have had any control over what other ads and stories were placed by its advertisements. Even so, I think McDonalds should reconsider its relationship with the company and publication they are buying advertising from. If the brand was unable to consider the surroundings of its advertisements, those selling and placing the ads should have ethically been conscious of the issue and informed McDonalds prior to publication.
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