Burger idol

Return of the Big Mac

What?: Just how much talent is going to waste at your local McDonalds amid the chip fat and cheap plastic toys? Well McDonald’s aims to find out as it embarks on ‘Voice of McDonalds II’ in conjunction with Sony ATV. The global singing contest is aimed at restaurant managers and staff. The burger chain has received 36, 000 entries from 53 countries via its 1.6M staff worldwide.

The public is being asked to ‘voice their choice’ and pick a winner from the 35 semi-finalist videos available to view online. All semi-finalists will win $500 and a trip to McDonalds 2008 worldwide convention in Orlando where the overall winner will be announced. Sony ATV Music Publishing has provided all music content for the campaign.

So what?: With a number of music talent show winners coming from mundane employment backgrounds, McDonalds tries its hand at finding the next Leona Lewis (formerly a Pizza hut waitress) from within. The winner gets $25,000 (and no music industry support) then its back to flipping burgers presumably. The consumer, however, gets nothing at all in return for their judging efforts.

“I always half expect to find Michelle McManus or David Sneddon asking me if I “want fries with that” from under the Golden Arches. The talent contest market reached overload long ago, and this seems yet another odd choice in a string of bizarre music campaigns from Ronald and Co”
Giles Fitzgerald, Deputy Editor, Five Eight

www.mcdonalds.com