Lost Racist "You Better Don't" McDonalds Ad
Dec 18, 2023 17:20:07 GMT
MantleM and awesomereesee like this
Post by randombanana on Dec 18, 2023 17:20:07 GMT
This one really is tough, it's hard enough to find uploads of commercials from specifically September or the second half of August 2004, but taking demographics into account we're looking at a pretty slim number of places and time slots where YBD would have realistically aired. Plus, if someone uploaded THAT commercial, surely they'd notice and say something about it, making it easier to find? I'm looking through recordings of Wheel of Fortune episodes and feeling slightly hopeless, it's really hard to find a show the ad would have even aired on to begin with. But I always knew this was the kind of search where the commercial will just show up one day.
www.dailymotion.com/video/x8opxpx This uploader has uploaded dozens of Wheel of Fortune episodes WOC, I can't be 1000% sure I checked everything but after looking through a lot of their September 2004 uploads I've only seen a McDonald's commercial about Happy Meals. It's an ad targeted at parents, which is promising, but I don't think it'll be in here. (If you're curious, the commercial I'm referring to is at 26:36 in the video I just linked. It's pretty common in these but it's the only McD ad of any type I saw)
~Random observations/finds~
I think this is a new "Power of No" sighting, unfortunately it isn't dated so who knows where it came from: youtu.be/ZTQTihuuGGs?feature=shared
This compilation includes a 'diving' Ronald Olympics ad I don't believe I've seen before, though I'm not 100% certain it's from 2004: youtu.be/R5WngDwhN2A?feature=shared
Just noticed a 15 second version of the alt Beth commercial: youtu.be/tI0PjTHPrZE?feature=shared (the one we have known about youtu.be/bIJxpYdUlCM?feature=shared&t=1644 is 30 seconds long)
I don't think I've seen anyone mention this random Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/5ing65/1983_mcdonalds_egg_mcmuffin_commercial_featuring/ The poster hasn't actually seen the commercial and doesn't know the specifics, but knew of YBD.
"About 10 years ago a coworker of mine came in to work telling everyone "You betta don't!" because she saw it in a McDonald's commercial. Apparently a black woman said it to her husband when he tried to take one of her nuggets. There was some backlash and the ad was pulled but I never saw it. Needless to say, I still drop "you betta don't" in conversation whenever possible."
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More lost Olympics McDonald's commercials
Was looking at this article about the announcement of the campaign... www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5528665
"McDonald’s will launch a four-week advertising blitz for the Chicken Selects featuring U.S. Olympians such as Serena Williams and Mia Hamm on Aug. 10, just before the start of the Summer Olympics. The tagline: “Prepare to Defend Your Chicken.”"
Maybe this was just a mixup, but I don't remember commercials including Serena Williams and Mia Hamm. We did get more Olympics commercials recently but they didn't include named athletes. It also indicates that the campaign specifically began on the tenth.
EDIT: Haven't been able to find a McDonald's ad from 2004 featuring Serena Williams, though it seems pretty apparent that McDonald's had STRONG ties to the Williams sisters during this point in time, there's a multitude of news articles about a partnership between them. www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2004/08/17/mcdonalds-goes-for-gold-with-olympic-sponsorships/a071c776-ea56-407f-913b-2594bd48cf24/
EDIT: This article from late August also mentions Serena Williams and Mia Hamm being in Chicken Selects commercials, it actually uses the word 'commercial' as well: www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-08-29-0408290180-story.html (Chicago Tribune has tried to lock this behind a paid option so this direct link may not work)
This one is a nested mystery. Honestly, my assumption is that there aren't commercials for Serena Williams and Mia Hamm (maybe plans fell through so they made 'Goalie' and 'Volleyball' instead?) but it's still mysterious. I guess worth noting both Serena Williams and Mia Hamm endorsed McDonald's Sports LCD toys a couple of months before. And maybe they did make appearances in McD advertising for the Olympics, just in print advertisements instead. Don't know. The Chicago Tribune article specifies commercials: "It is introducing its new Chicken Selects in commercials that feature soccer star Mia Hamm and tennis star Serena Williams."
EDIT: Here's an important piece for this thread of my search... Direct from McDonald's themselves: mcdonalds.mediaroom.com/2004-06-15-Venus-and-Serena-Williams-Join-the-Go-Active-Program-as-Part-of-Worldwide-Partnership-With-McDonalds
"The Williams sisters' global partnership will be seen immediately. Beginning today, Venus and Serena are featured on McDonald's Olympic themed packaging in the U.S. -- on take-out bags and Chicken Selects® boxes -- marking the first time that world class Olympic athletes have been featured on McDonald's new packaging design. The Williams sisters also will appear in both Olympic and Ronald McDonald® themed television commercials throughout the summer.
"To star in McDonald's Olympic commercials and packaging is really fun and exciting for Venus and me. We grew up eating McDonald's and never dreamed back then we'd ever see ourselves in their commercials and on their packaging," said Serena."
So now we can be aware that there's also lost commercials featuring the Williams sisters and Mia Hamm.
ANOTHER EDIT: This seems pertinent... www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/im-lovin-it-hit-mcdonalds-aims-new-markets/210812
"The new ads have been made by a raft of McDonald's agencies including Leo Burnett in the US, DDB in Hong Kong and New Zealand, Leo Burnett in Australia, Burrell Communications in the US and Leo Burnett and DRM DDB in Argentina." [...]
"Another ad shot in New Zealand shows McDonald's "chief happiness officer" Ronald McDonald having fun with his friends, who include NBA star Yao Ming and tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. McDonald's said that more "I'm lovin' it" commercials will be released this summer themed to current promotions, as well as the Olympic Games in Athens, featuring Justin Timberlake, Yao Ming, and Venus and Serena Williams." [...]
"Another ad shot by the Chicago office of DDB Worldwide shows an office worker making photocopies as he defends his Chicken Selects from other employees."
A direct mention of the photocopy guy ad, and it even tells us who made it. This could be useful in the future. As for the Williams sisters ads, it looks to me as though there was one ad shot in New Zealand with Yao Ming, with plans for more ads for the Olympics? Either way I can't find any McD commercials from the time period that feature Serena Williams.
YET ANOTHER EDIT: Spotted mention of yet more Olympics 2004 commercials I've never heard about before: www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/business/worldbusiness/IHT-mcdonalds-credits-ads-for-lifting-sales.html
"One global TV ad from Leo Burnett, which will run during the Olympics, salutes motherhood. As images of pregnancy and childbirth roll by, text on the screen reads: "I'm expectant. I'm determined. I'm strong. I'm not alone. I'm proud. I'm miraculous. I'm ready." It concludes: "Here's to the original Olympic effort."
There are also more lighthearted spots, including ones in which Ronald McDonald stars as a hapless Olympic athlete. In one, he tosses a discus into some protective netting, and it bounces back onto his head."
I'm not saying we need to care to search for every McDonald's Olympics commercial, I'm just taking note of what I come across. The Williams sisters commercials are said to be of the "defend your chicken" campaign though, so useful for completionist's sake. The amount of unique commercials they were running around August 2004 alone is staggering.
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The Washington Post article I sourced before to show the Williams sisters had a strong partnership with McD at the time also includes a description of the Yao Ming Olympics commercial...
"Yao is featured in a commercial shot especially for the Olympics. The spot opens with a jet touching down in Athens. A wide-eyed young man gets off, boards a bus and gapes awestruck as he rides past the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus. Then he phones home, gushing, "Can you believe I'm actually here?" A voice replies, "It's because you earned it!" The next image shows the young man standing behind a McDonald's counter and handing a take-out bag to a smiling Yao. A voice-over explains that top employees at McDonald's will be staffing its Olympic outlets, "so our best can serve the world's best!""
Obviously, we knew about this one, but I didn't even realize this cameo was supposed to be Yao Ming's big Olympics commercial. And it's fun to see a description.
"Yao is featured in a commercial shot especially for the Olympics. The spot opens with a jet touching down in Athens. A wide-eyed young man gets off, boards a bus and gapes awestruck as he rides past the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus. Then he phones home, gushing, "Can you believe I'm actually here?" A voice replies, "It's because you earned it!" The next image shows the young man standing behind a McDonald's counter and handing a take-out bag to a smiling Yao. A voice-over explains that top employees at McDonald's will be staffing its Olympic outlets, "so our best can serve the world's best!""
Obviously, we knew about this one, but I didn't even realize this cameo was supposed to be Yao Ming's big Olympics commercial. And it's fun to see a description.
Here is the advert saluting motherhood (yet another find using Adland!): adland.tv/mcdonalds-mothers-day-2004-030-usa. What's sort of fun about this is McDonald's clearly reused this ad during the 2004 Olympics. They must have appended the "Here's to the original olympic effort" to the end because the ad was first used for Mother's Day.
Also, I found this in an article published on August 3, 2004: chiefmarketer.com/mcdonalds-samples-new-chicken-strips/
Advertising supporting the roll out of the new chicken strips debuts next week along with in-restaurant merchandising and packaging featuring such 2004 U.S. Olympic athletes as tennis superstar Serena Williams and soccer champion Mia Hamm.
To help launch new Chicken Selects, McD’s will sample the new product at six national events across the country throughout August. Sampling tour stops include Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis Aug. 6-8; New York City on Aug. 13; and Unity Day in Philadelphia on Aug. 15.
To help launch new Chicken Selects, McD’s will sample the new product at six national events across the country throughout August. Sampling tour stops include Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis Aug. 6-8; New York City on Aug. 13; and Unity Day in Philadelphia on Aug. 15.
We now know for certain that Chicken Select commercials started during the second week of August. This lines up with the dates of the earliest ads we've found. For ex: there is an Office Guy and Beth Malone spot that we found played on August 13. The 2004 Brickyard 400 ran on August 8, 2004. Is it possible the very first Chicken Select commercials aired during this event? Maybe, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to find an upload of this race with commercials.
