As the Chicago Sun-Times is pointing out, Susan Credle’s work as Leo Burnett CCO has led to McDonald’s re-positioning itself as a company full of magical wonderment. It’s been seven years since the fast-food giant began targeting young adults with its “I’m Lovin’ It,” a campaign which attempted to make it wholly believable that post-college hipsters would dig McDonald’s as much as the latest Arcade Fire album. It would seem that those days are now over.
Enter (autistic?) every-kid “Spaceman Stu” and his catchy acoustic theme song. If we are to learn anything from Stu and his trippy fast-food experiences, McDonald’s is a Magic Kingdom for children in their own hometown, as company founder Ray Kroc had intended after finding inspiration from his WWI buddy, Walt Disney. It should also be noted that while childhood obesity remains a frightening epidemic and perhaps a large reason why McDonald’s changed its target audience seven years ago, Stu’s Happy Meal seems to only contain apple slices and 1 percent milk.
Could this be the beginning of another generation of memorable McDonald’s ads? Click here for a higher quality version.
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