McDonald’s brilliant new marketing: Billboards that smell like its French fries

The french fry has been around for a long time. McDonald’s first served them in 1949, replacing potato chips on its menu. Since then, the McDonald’s french fry has gone through a few changes–they are no longer cut fresh, and they aren’t cooked in beef fat, but over the past 75 years, they’ve become the most widely sold fast-food item in the world.

Click here to read the story at inc.com.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is advertising?
2. What are the different advertising channels?
3. Why does McDonald’s advertise?
4. What type of advertising channel includes billboards?
5. What is sensory marketing?
6. Why is sensory marketing effective?
7. What is unique about this billboard advertisement from McDonald’s?
8. According to this story, what color is the billboard?
9. Why do you think McDonald’s chose to use those colors?
10. How might that represent an example of branding?
11. How are fries part of McDonald’s brand identity?
12. How might it represent an example of sensory marketing?
13. Why do you think sensory marketing is such a popular trend right now?
14. Why do you think McDonald’s chose to focus on french fries as part of this campaign?