McDonalds’ Portfolio Project 1

Collect a set of three traditional media ads that also have online versions. Compare the

original and the online version and analyse the differences. What does the traditional medium

offer that is not available online, and what does the online version add to the offerings of the

original medium.

McDonalds has been one of the most successful fast food chain in history. One of the

reasons for its success is their advertisement. As we all know, advertisement can be seen all

around us, whether it’s in our phone or a poster outside; and McDonalds’ advertisement is

known for its creativity and simplicity. McDonalds utilizes both the traditional advertising

and the online advertising exceptionally. Some examples of the traditional advertising are

poster, billboard, and brochure, meanwhile online advertising includes the social media

platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and etc.

An example of the billboard advertisement that McDonalds has done is their billboard

advertisement for their 24 hour drive through or as they would call it McDrive.

These two billboard advertisement were released on the 26 of April by the agency known as

Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB). As seen in the reference pictures, it can be depicted that

McDonalds’ advertisements are as straightforward as it can get; they used a small snippet of

text to ensure that drivers won’t take their eyes off the road for more than a second and also

utilizes the curved road and makes it into something creative. This advertisement is one of

the most effective advertisement from McDonalds.

Another form of traditional advertisement is print advertisement such as their print

advertising for their coffee which includes their signature colours and large random numbers

to represent as the time with a short message. This specific ad was created by Leo Burnett in
 McDonalds’ Portfolio Project 2

Dubai. In the ad, McDonalds was conveying the message of their coffee ready for their

consumers regardless of what time they wake up. There are other forms of print ads that has

been used by McDonalds such as magazine ads.

The next traditional advertisement that will be discussed is the television ad, more

specifically, the first drive advertisement. This advertisement represents a family of three

with a single daughter who’s driving for the very first time. In sum, the ad shows that

McDonalds food will always be fresh and are good to share.

Lastly, the online advertisement that will be discuss is the advertisement from

Instagram known as the shake sauce. In this specific ad, there are many variant of newly

released flavours to go with any of the orders made at McDonalds. From its satisfying

panoramic action and their mix of colour, everything about this ad just grabs attention. There

has also been ads on YouTube which promotes the app of McDonalds roaming around the

platform.

There are quite a few noticeable differences between the traditional media and online

such as its content, a billboard on a busy street would most likely advertise the position and

the availability of the restaurant meanwhile the online media would advertise on its variety in

their products. Online advertising is also a lot cheaper than the traditional advertising;

however, traditional advertising has a bigger target audience.