Even though McDonald’s never uses its CEO in any of its advertising campaigns, it chose to have him introduce the new Big Arch burger. For the past few weeks, he has been criticized and lampooned for taking a small bite and calling the burger a “product.”
It is not uncommon for companies to follow a strategy of humanizing their brand, with a tactic of putting the founder or CEO front and center. However, brands shouldn’t do this when their leader is not relatable to the customer. That was clear in the McDonald’s video, as no one calls any food item a “product.”
Also, if your company’s CEO requests that they serve as an advertising spokesperson, and you don’t feel like they would be a good fit, you must tell them so. A little private embarrassment is better than a lot of public embarrassment.
Next, avoid putting your CEO in a live video, and always record multiple takes. Even if the McDonald’s CEO said that he only wanted to do one take, the video team should have strongly requested another one for several reasons. First, it’s best practice to have several takes. Second, the team could have gotten a take in which the CEO doesn’t have a crumb on his mouth. Third, while no one is expecting the CEO to take a Guy Fieri-sized bite, a slightly larger bite with less tentativeness would have been better.
Lastly, keep in mind that CEOs of publicly traded companies come and go. It doesn’t do the brand any good to use a consumer-facing figure only to have him/her leave or get fired after a few years.