McDonald's ditches its brand in new type-only ads

McDonald's type-based billboards
(Image credit: McDonald's/Leo Burnett London)

You might have thought that a brand as strong as McDonald's relies on its most famous elements – the big 'M' and bright yellow and red hues – being present, but apparently, you'd be wrong. The fast food chain's latest ads consist solely of a list of ingredients that make up its most popular offerings: "muffin, egg, sausage, cheese, muffin", for example. Or "bun, beef, gherkin, lettuce, sauce, bun, beef, cheese, lettuce, sauce, bun". The words might be in the colour of the ingredients, but there's no branding to speak of – no logo, no tagline, not even McDonald's' custom typeface. Intrigued? We thought so.

It's a risky strategy, but we bet it'll pay off; McDonald's has always been good at marketing. We've included plenty of its adverts in our best billboard ads roundup, and the chain does have form when it comes to running ads that deliberately mix up or adapt its famous golden arches. Remember those blurry ads it ran last year?

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Rosie Hilder

Rosie Hilder is Creative Bloq's Deputy Editor. After beginning her career in journalism in Argentina – where she worked as Deputy Editor of Time Out Buenos Aires – she moved back to the UK and joined Future Plc in 2016. Since then, she's worked as Operations Editor on magazines including Computer Arts, 3D World and Paint & Draw and Mac|Life. In 2018, she joined Creative Bloq, where she now assists with the daily management of the site, including growing the site's reach, getting involved in events, such as judging the Brand Impact Awards, and helping make sure our content serves the reader as best it can. 

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