Did McDonald’s Call Starbucks “Dumb?”
A new billboard campaign calls into question whether McDonald’s has called its competitor Starbucks dumb.
In addition to the wording, which I’ll get to, the billboards are placed around the very heart of Starbucks country, the company’s home state of Washington. One billboard can reportedly been seen from Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters.
The words “four bucks is dumb” appear on the billboards in large white letters on coffee-colored backgrounds. Smaller type reads: now serving espresso along with the golden arches’ logo and the I’m lovin’ it tag line.
The messaging certainly makes the point that Starbucks’ coffee is more expensive than McDonald’s and that in this economic climate it may not make sense for anyone to spend a penny more of their hard earned cash on coffee than necessary.
A spokesperson for McDonald’s, Danya Proud, said the billboard is “not about any other brand, other than McDonald’s.”
Maybe not, according to McDonald’s, but to the rest of us, it sure is. The rhyming of “four bucks” and Starbucks is a funny tongue-in-cheek message that strikes at the heart of a big problem for Starbucks: many people are no longer willing, or can no longer afford, to spend that kind of money for a cup of Joe.
And it is true that Starbucks coffee costs more than McDonald’s. A McDonald’s in Stamford, CT, sells a small coffee for $1.58, while a nearby Starbucks sells a small coffee for $1.75. Even so, a $1.58 is still a lot.
Kelly Hoyman, the marketing director for McDonald’s Pacific Northwest Region, came closer to acknowledging a connection. She said in a statement, “As with all our advertising, this billboard reflects a light-hearted, fun approach to our brand, our menu and the value that only McDonald’s can offer.”
No word from Starbucks.
McDonald’s introduced its premium roast coffee in 2006 and last year added iced coffee to its menu. Proud says most of the company’s restaurants have shown “significant positive sales growth.”
One report about the continuing coffee war that was picked up by the blogosphere said: “If Dunkin’ Donuts’ taste test commercials were schoolyard equivalent of blowing spitballs at the coffee giant from afar, then the latest from McDonald’s is like pulling a wedgie.”
Bloggers and others have been having a field day with the billboards, alternately praising and slamming both companies and their coffee.
No matter whether people choose their coffee based on price or taste, the billboard campaign is keeping both companies in the spotlight.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I get McDonalds’ point but I stick to drinking Tim Horton’s coffee. McDonald’s is giving away small free coffees at breakfast time until May 3 but I won’t buy one because the last time I had their coffee it tasted horribly bitter. The last time I visited a Starbucks-they called their small,medium and large coffee large,tall and viandi. I’m a grab and go customer and I don’t want that kind of nonsense