McDonald's axes 'Sex and the City' salad girls from ads

LONDON - McDonald's chief marketer John Hawkes has defended the fast-food chain's latest ads, but said he would not develop the characters from the Salads Plus ads.

Although the campaign had created "off the scale" awareness of the salad range, the 'Sex and the City' like characters - "impatient Sophie", "sensible Charlotte" and "Joanna who's always late" -- will not be used in

future ads by Leo Burnett.

"They did the job that was intended by communicating the range and the element of surprise for new people coming to the restaurants. We wanted them to be different, but you can't produce an ad that's universally liked," added Hawkes.

He insisted that new elements on the menu, including fruit packs, do not reflect a repositioning, but are about the brand keeping pace with customers' tastes.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .

Market Reports

Get unprecedented new-business intelligence with access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s new Advertising Intelligence Market Reports.

Find out more

Enjoying ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s content?

 Get unlimited access to ±±¾©Èü³µpk10’s premium content for your whole company with a corporate licence.

Upgrade access

Looking for a new job?

Get the latest creative jobs in advertising, media, marketing and digital delivered directly to your inbox each day.

Create an alert now

Partner content