Hasta La Creative!

New Yorkers are subjected to all kind of marketing indignities, most of them of the “larger than life” variety. Who could forget Beemster’s giant wheel of cheese at Grand Central last year or Ray-Ban’s threat to stop midtown traffic in order to draw attention to its sunglasses? (That’s just a couple of weeks away. My advice: Call in sick.) Then there’s this e-mail I got from Leo Burnett: “Hey David, a larger-than-life cup of McDonald’s coffee!!!” Those three exclamations points propelled me ahead: “This morning, New Yorkers passing by Times Square started their day beneath a 48-foot flowing cup and spigot of … McDonald’s Premium Roast Coffee!!!” Six exclamation points now. The cup’s just a prop, of course. It isn’t filled with coffee. Which is probably a good thing, because McD’s brew is famously hot, and untimely spills have spurred pricey litigation before. This time, Ronald would’ve had a class-action suit on his hands.

—Posted by David Gianatasio