McDonald's consumers call Chick 'N' Cheese campaign 'overmarketed'

McDonald's Singapore shared a promotional video post on its official Instagram page, describing its new Chick 'N' Cheese burger as taking customers' "tastebuds to the next level". The Instagram post has garnered over 25,000 views, 2275 likes and 47 comments at the time of writing.  However, not all netizens seem to reciprocate the positivity of its Instagram caption.  The post dedicated to the "Sweet tomato chilli jam" in its Chick 'N' Cheese burger met with comments that said the burger was "over marketed" with some netizens claiming that the meal was "not up to expectations".  

More comments on the post shared how the customers were "speechless" and that they felt that TikTok influencers who were used for the ad were "con artists" given the burger didn't live up to their expectations. The social media campaign #LevelUpwithMcd on Tiktok, that is in line with Mcdonald's Chick 'N' Cheese burger, has called Tiktok users to "Come duet with us and - rap, sing, dance, or show off anything you're proud of. Submit your entries with hashtag #LevelUpwithMcd". The main TikTok post by SGAG SG has received 24 reposts in total, 19 of which are duets. 

In another Instagram post of an image of the Chick 'N' Cheese burger, the 180 comments it received largely followed a common theme of "disappointment". A netizen said the food tasted somewhat "expired" and was accompanied with many other customers who had their own personal reviews to share.

In an email to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesman said that the #LevelUpwithMcD campaign was created to inject fun an excitement. He also said that the purpose of the campaign was to "appeal to the tastebuds of our Millennials and Gen Z audience". The campaign was created in collaboration with creative agency Leo Burnett and communications agency Golin Singapore and will also be running on television, online media such as YouTube, and print as well.  He declined to comment on MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's queries on consumer sentiment. 

McSenget

Adding to the comments that Mcdonald's has been receiving, customers in Singapore have started sharing pictures of burgers that have not been stacked properly via an Instagram page. The Instagram account named "McSenget" has a following count of 8831 followers as of today, with 121 posts of McDonald burgers that were not stacked according to the customer's liking.  The word "Senget" is a Malay word that translates to "tilted" according to Google translate. The Instagram account has made its way to different news media websites. 

Prior to this, McDonald's has partnered up with 21st century global pop icons BTS to collaborate on a one-of-a-kind menu “tour”. The global tour that will hit Singapore on 27 May, and will be available until 9 June.The BTS Meal will be available globally in nearly 50 countries. Other markets in Asia include: the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. This is the first time McDonald’s is bringing its celebrity signature orders program out of the US. This customised BTS Meal includes the McDonald’s chicken nuggets, fries, a drink, and Sweet Chili and Cajun dipping sauces inspired by popular recipes from McDonald’s South Korea.

According to Meltwater's data, the news of McDonald's partnering with the iconic K-pop boy band generated a lot of online buzz. Over the past two days, online mentions of BTS hit 8.87k, with the top key words being "BTS meal" and "McDonald's". Among the various reactions online, the "love" reaction was the highest at 404, followed by "joy" reaction at 176 and "surprise" reaction at 118. Netizens also stated their support for the partnership, with many saying they will purchase the meal.