McDonald’s Fries are Now a Drowning Hazard

By Bob Marshall 

From Leo Burnett Chicago, prodco O Positive, and a director known only as “Kenny” comes the above TV spot for McDonald’s very addictive french fries.

The spot opens on a familiar scene–one we’ve seen on countless greeting cards, stamps and Bic lighters–a boy and his older male friend fishing at the ol’ pond created by hazardous waste runoff from the power plant half-a-mile upstream. Realize, of course, that the duo is not going to eat its catch, as the two picked up some Filet-O-Fish sandwiches before the trip to ensure each has his recommended daily intake of Omega 3 fatty acids. I mean, you don’t actually expect them to eat dirty ol’ fish from the dirty ol’ pond, do you?

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Much to his companion’s disdain, the boy opts to use a McDonald’s french fry over watching another worm writhe to death at the end of his hook. This inevitably attracts some employees from the power plant upstream (and one guy who takes cycling too seriously) to the addictive fries, their deaths weighing heavy on the boy’s conscience and causing him to develop an irrational, debilitating fear of ponds and small lakes. The boy learns a lesson that most of us have also learned the hard way: The “Best Fries on the Planet” are not toys.

Credits after the jump.
Agency: Leo Burnett Chicago
ECD: John Montgomery
Creative Director: Avery Gross, Brian Shembeda
Art Director: Tim Ratchford
Copywriter: Jason Curry
Sr. Producer: Bridget Rose
Sr. Producer: Samantha Howes
Production Co.: O Positive
Director: Kenny
Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella
Producer: Ken Licata
Editorial Co.: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Nikki Vapensky
Producer: Dawn Guzowski

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