Because let’s be honest, that’s all they are. I’m not going to give the latest McDonald’s World Cup campaign any more credit than it deserves.

For the uninitiated, I’m talking about this:

I stumbled across it on the the page of one of my Flickr contacts in Monterrey, Mexico (thanks, Oscar!). It seems that McDonald’s has found a “creative” way to capitalize on the fever of the World Cup in Mexico. Oscar brings up the question of overbranding. Indeed, this is a bit much for me.

Beyond the ball bun, McDonald’s has also set up a web site for the Mexico market dedicated exclusively to the World Cup: McDonaldsFutbol.com.mx upon which it declares itself the “official hamburger of the Mexican soccer team”. Yawn. As much as a fan I am of la selección mexicana, that’s not going to win me over to Micky D’s. Incidentally, they are also the “Official Restaurant” for the Mexican team? Well, in that case…

In the UK, here’s the brilliant stuff McDonald’s has been dreaming up — a HUGE hamburger (I guess the size of the Cup itself) in honor of the FIFA World Cup:

Fast food chain McDonalds is to launch a special World Cup burger that is bigger than a Big Mac.

The restaurant is to sell the sandwiches, which are 40% bigger than its biggest current burger, over a six-week period.

They will pack a belt-busting 669 calories.

The move has prompted outrage from health campaigners.

Just what the doctor ordered. And stateside? Is McDonald’s trying any World Cup related schemes here? According to the NYT, only to the Latino market:

Like Anheuser-Busch, McDonald’s views the World Cup mainly as an opportunity to sell itself outside the United States. It is heavily promoting its sponsorship in McDonald’s franchises in Europe and Latin America. But it is also running a promotion in restaurants in the United States with a Hispanic clientele.

Cross-posted over at VivirLatino

A group of Democrats are dedicating 2 million big ones to an initiative to get Latinos won over to the party via an ad campaign that will run during the 2006 World Cup, according to AP:

Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, said the group wants to use a “major sport like soccer to brand Democrats for a wider audience.” The TV ad shows an empty soccer field as an announcer says: “For years now, we’ve been awaiting this moment. Our country is again ready to return to being the great nation that all of us always dreamed of. Get involved. It’s up to you.”

The radio ad will air in 70 markets all over the country. Personally, while definitely a way to target Latinos en masse, I’m wondering if this campaign will be effective. The World Cup, perhaps more than any other sporting event in the world, is a way to escape, to dream, to imagine and to celebrate the sport as a culture. I think the last thing on people’s minds is the state of the country and how a political party might change that. Caught up in the revelry and emotion, it’s hard to remember that as a nation we’re in crisis.

Thoughts?

Via Que Pasa