A McDonald's television advertisement that debuted this weekend, called "Signs", inspired a polarized reaction online, with people continuing to post about it this morning.
The spot features a series of messages posted on McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) restaurant signs set to a children's choir singing the song, "Carry On" by the band Fun, and immediate reaction posted to social media during the NFL playoffs included both plaudits and pointed criticisms. However, as the night wore on, and the ad aired again during the Golden Globes telecast, online reaction appeared to flow toward the negative.
Adweek pointed out the first two commercials in McDonald's recent "brand refresh" spearheaded by Leo Burnett were relatively well-received. However, that post also said that McDonald's should have anticipated the possibility of this kind of reaction given prominent recent protests about McDonald's and other fast-food chains' pay practices. In particular, one sign from the ad says "Keep Jobs in Toledo", which, while proffering the idea that McDonald's is a community pillar and can speak for locals, certainly came off as insensitive to those protests.
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