“There is only one,” it says on the McDonalds website.
Yeah. There’s only one, and it’s on your website!
In the video below, you’ll see how McDonald’s goes about creating the burgers you see in their advertisements:
[tentblogger-youtube oSd0keSj2W8]
I’ve always had fun joking about the deviation between fast food advertising versus what you find in the box. I thought was pretty cool, to learn that McDonald’s actually uses their own products in their burger photo shoots. In the video, they even compared the ad burger to the real burger, and I’ll be honest, never would have thought they would do that.
Over years of advertising exposure, no one really thinks much of this deviation anymore. We’ve all become insulated against it. We’re all a little jaded, cynical and callous.
Here’s the hang-up, though.
We all go to McDonald’s to purchase a sandwich for a few bucks that’s made in a few minutes, but what McDonald’s is advertising is a burger made in a few hours.
I don’t think you can get a burger that took hours to make for a few bucks, do you?
Is it wrong what McDonald’s is doing? Is it false advertising?
Probably not, nor am I going to open up this cardboard box of ethical debate. I do, however, hope to unwrap some kind of food for thought.
Church Advertising
Yeah.
I went there.
You’ve seen the ads.
There on the web, television, billboards, in print — everywhere.
What do they say?
- We’re warm and friendly.
- We have the answers.
- We meet needs.
- We’re happy.
- We’re fun.
I don’t think it should be any surprise that the Church’s marketplace has become a little jaded, cynical and callous, do you?
After all, the ad doesn’t match what they see after they pass through the doors.
Now, I know this isn’t the rule, but I’m also not naive enough to think this is the exception. Believe me, the forest looks different when all your friends are trees.
Is the Church advertising a 3-hour burger while offering one that only takes 3-minutes?
The Challenge
Here’s the challenge.
The answer isn’t necessarily to change the ads. The ads are good.
It’s the product that needs changing.
What do you think?
[via MetaFilter]
Tyler H says
the problem is that we’re trying to sell people on the church, rather than preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the one who actually saves…and telling people about Him works better mouth to mouth than on a billboard
Chuck McKnight says
Amen!
Eric Dye says
Amen.