• Client: McDonald's
• Agency: DDB, Chicago
• Principals: For McDonald's: John Lewicki, senior director of alliance marketing; Mark Carlson, creative director. For DDB: Jim Ferguson, senior vice president creative; Tim Souers, creative director.
• Media buy: Developed to run in McDonald's media buys on Fox, NBC and Turner NASCAR programming.
Summary: Two guys munching Mickey D's on a street bench are amused when a lone tire rolls by, bouncing down the road. Even more entertaining is what follows: NASCAR driver Kyle Petty chasing his wayward wheel.
The point? Without their pit crews, drivers would be chasing rubber instead of burning it. The spot is one of a trio backing McDonald's Drive Through Championships, a contest that awards the fastest pit crew among the Winston Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck circuits weekly prizes of $20,000 and an annual prize of $200,000.
Grades
A- For creative. Nice pace, and the imagery of a NASCAR driver on foot is arresting, especially when seen in the context of a race broadcast.
A For use of sports as a marketing vehicle: A McDonald's "official drive-through of NASCAR" status is leveraged well here, with shots of the expeditious pit crew interspersed with footage of an equally frenetic crew manning the quick-service-restaurant's drive-through window.
