There aren’t many brands that could pull off an advertising campaign where the ads feature no images, products or even a company logo. However, this fast-food franchise has decided to give it a shot.

McDonald’s golden arches may be the most recognized symbol in the world, but apparently the brand feels they don’t even need them. The company, whose marketing has been leaning more frequently toward minimalism in Europe, has launched an OOH campaign that’s both subtle and loaded with swagger. The ads from Leo Burnett London and designer David Schwen, don’t mention the fast-food brand by name, show its logo or include any pictures of the products.

“Only a handful of brands can communicate like this,” says Andrew Long, Creative Director at Leo Burnett London. “Super proud of our latest work for one of the most iconic brands in the world, I’ll let you guess which one.”

The campaign titled Iconic Stacks features typographic posters with ingredient names colour-coded and stacked into word sandwiches. Customers will not only recognize who the ads are from but also the specific menu items being advertised. The list of the key ingredients makes up some of McDonald’s core products: the Filet-O-Fish, Egg McMuffin and Big Mac.

The Iconic Stacks campaign isn’t the image-centric food porn typically used for food and restaurant marketing. However, much like Pavlov’s dog, McDonald’s is hoping that the words alone will still make you salivate. What are your thoughts? Can you picture the food in your head when looking at these OOH ads?

Source: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/mcdonalds-iconic-stacks-leo-burnett-london/1672341