MCDONALD’S SLATES FIRST GAME SINCE 2001 SCANDAL
McDonald’s Corp. climbs back in the saddle this month with Winning Time, its first game since the FBI busted a fraud ring last summer that stole $20 million in high-value game pieces from McDonald’s.
Winning Time breaks in-store nationally on March 25; winners need only a single winning game piece, not a collection of pieces. Prizes include cash, personal services, luxury cars, and “special times with celebrities.” The Marketing Store, Oak Brook, handles.
Oak Brook, IL-based McDonald’s returns with new security protocols: There is no longer a single party overseeing game security; McD is using a new technique that lets independent auditors authenticate game pieces; and McD will randomly rotate suppliers to different roles from one game to the next.
“With the new security protocols that our Games Advisory Board has endorsed, we can ensure that McDonald’s customers will have a fair chance to win … when they visit our restaurants,” says VP-U.S. marketing Neil Golden in a statement. McD convened a high-profile Games Advisory Board shortly after the August 2001 arrests. (October 2001 PROMO).
Separately, McDonald’s is poised to expand McDeals, a loyalty program testing in Hawaii since October. Diners get tailored offers based on past purchase history, similar to Checkout Coupons distributed in supermarkets. Catalina Marketing Corp., St. Petersburg, FL, handles McDeals.
In menu news, McDonald’s begins serving Newman’s Own dressings with its salads on March 24, a permanent addition. Newman’s Own donates all after-tax profits to charity.
