McDonald's "U.S. Wins, You Win."
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Graduate
Major
Mass communication/ Public Relation
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Shemberger
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
McDonald's "U.S. Wins, You Win."
At Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, McDonald's launched a media campaign titled "U.S. Wins, You Win." The campaign was decided after its successful success at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The campaign consisted of gold, silver and bronze medals. How it worked was that a patron, upon purchasing an item at Mickey D's, would get a scratch-off card with an Olympic event on it. If the U.S. team won gold in that event, the patron would get a Big Mac. If the team won silver, the patron got french fries. Bronze meant a free soft drink. However, this campaign failed significantly at this time for reasons that were not considered, which led to massive losses on the company and the failure of this campaign. The difference between these two campaigns is only eight years, but much has happened that makes the second campaign not work. This paper will analyze the reasons for the failure of the second campaign despite the success of the first time and what mistakes committed by those responsible for the campaign.
One of the reasons is due to the political situation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The campaign was scheduled for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but the United States did not participate in the Olympics, so the campaign was postponed to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, but this year the Soviet Union also decided not to participate in the Olympics for the same reason. The withdrawal of the Soviet Union led the United States to win more medals because the Soviet Union was the strongest contender in the Olympics. That means there are more free meals that McDonald must provide, which is what made this campaign unsuccessful.
Spring Scholars Week 2019 Event
JMC 620 Strategic Communications
McDonald's "U.S. Wins, You Win."
McDonald's "U.S. Wins, You Win."
At Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, McDonald's launched a media campaign titled "U.S. Wins, You Win." The campaign was decided after its successful success at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The campaign consisted of gold, silver and bronze medals. How it worked was that a patron, upon purchasing an item at Mickey D's, would get a scratch-off card with an Olympic event on it. If the U.S. team won gold in that event, the patron would get a Big Mac. If the team won silver, the patron got french fries. Bronze meant a free soft drink. However, this campaign failed significantly at this time for reasons that were not considered, which led to massive losses on the company and the failure of this campaign. The difference between these two campaigns is only eight years, but much has happened that makes the second campaign not work. This paper will analyze the reasons for the failure of the second campaign despite the success of the first time and what mistakes committed by those responsible for the campaign.
One of the reasons is due to the political situation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The campaign was scheduled for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, but the United States did not participate in the Olympics, so the campaign was postponed to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, but this year the Soviet Union also decided not to participate in the Olympics for the same reason. The withdrawal of the Soviet Union led the United States to win more medals because the Soviet Union was the strongest contender in the Olympics. That means there are more free meals that McDonald must provide, which is what made this campaign unsuccessful.