McDonald's has been part of the cultural zeitgeist for what feels like forever, but would you believe me if I told you the Golden Arches date all the way back to Roman times? No? Good, because that's a lie, but that's what McD's latest extravagant ad would have you believe.
Creating an 'ancient' Roman mosaic in the iconic Galleria Alberto Sordi shopping mall, the playful (and slightly ridiculous) campaign has got people divided, with some saying the ad is a stroke of genius, while others have called it a cheap, sleazy stunt. However, you feel about McDonald's latest campaign, it's safe to say the fast food chain doesn't shy away from a little cheekiness, resulting in some of the best adverts of all time.
At first glance, the mosaic looks fairly authentic, as if freshly uncovered from an archaeological dig. A closer inspection reveals that things aren't as they seem, as the ancient figures are depicted tucking into a spread of McDonald's classics, with the signature garish red and yellow of McD's branding radiating throughout the design.
The 'Enjoy the Classics' campaign was created with the help of 10 mosaic experts who painstakingly laid the mosaic with approximately 18,000 tesserae pieces. Despite the careful handiwork that went into the campaign, the stunt received a mixed response from audiences.
Angelo Argento of Artribune Magazine called the mosaic "grotesque" and "vulgar", claiming it was "an embarrassing advertising operation, which slips into carnivalesque trash and also overwhelms the place in which it is inserted." Others saw the lighter sides, with one X user commenting, "Poor taste? It’s a master stroke of advertising, of irony, of a wink and nod to history."
While it's clear the ad was created as a playful retelling of history, there's admittedly a sense of sleaziness attached to a major fast food corporation inserting itself into history. It's understandable that some locals will find the ad in poor taste, but I find myself morally torn given the handcrafted talent and expertise put into the campaign's creation.
For more advertising inspiration, take a look at McDonald's latest no-logo campaign or check out why the closure of McDonald's CosMc's restaurants might not be the branding fail we think it is.
