Future of 'I'm Lovin' It' Aside, McD's Has More Pressing Issues Than a Campaign
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When Ad Adge broke the news this month that McDonald’s U.S. Creative Chief Marlena Peleo-Lazar was leaving the company after 14 years, it raised an immediate question: What would happen to “I’m lovin’ it?”
The Golden Arches veteran was integral to the marketing platform first adopted by the chain in 2003, approving thousands of pieces of creative during her tenure. The departure of Ms. Peleo-Lazar seemed to hint that the fast feeder might drop the marketing platform — already under scrutiny after McDonald’s asked its shops to pitch rebranding ideas — faster than a hot french fry.
McDonald’s isn’t commenting. But analysts and observers say the chain’s woes run so deep that changing “I’m lovin’ it” would simply be slapping a Band-Aid on a much larger problem: its operations and menu. If the company overhauled marketing without first fixing operations, it would only mask issues, said Howard Penney, analyst and managing director of Hedgeye. He pointed out the campaign platform was only one part of a massive turnaround effort conceived in 2003 called the “Plan to Win” that reworked everything, including operations, menu, packaging, marketing and media strategy.
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