McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada is marking the six-month countdown to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games with the launch of themed water bottles.
McDonald’s has released five uniquely designed re-usable aluminum bottles, three of which feature Team McDonald’s members figure skater Patrick Chan and speed skater Cindy Klassen as well as snowboarders Brad Martin and Crispin Lipscomb.
McDonald’s is known for its Olympic collectibles, which in the past included baseball caps (Atlanta 1996), watches (Nagano 1998) and medallions (Athens 2004).
Karen Gold, national marketing director, said the company felt the water bottles would be attractive to kids and parents during the back-to-school shopping season.
“We decided to come up with an item that would have seasonal appeal but also build Olympic recognition and be something memorable that people would want,” she said.
The bottles retail for $3.49 (plus tax) with the purchase of food or beverage, and are available until Aug. 31.
TV, radio, online and in-store materials from Cossette promote the water bottles.
Launched last week, the 30-second spot opens with a little girl approaching figure skater and Team McDonald’s member, Patrick Chan. She asks him to autograph her Olympic water bottle.
Chan obliges, and asks who to make it out to. She thinks about it, and then spells “M-o-m-m-y.”
Chan turns around to see the little girl’s mom sitting in the booth behind him.
The super, “Now that’s golden” appears on the top right hand corner of the screen.
Gold said McDonald’s approached Chen to appear in the commercials because of his universal appeal, availability and his chances for winning an Olympic gold.
OMD Canada handled the media planning and buying.
McDonald’s has been an official Olympic sponsor since 1976.
“There couldn’t be any greater fit in terms of values between the Olympics and McDonald’s–the spirit of engagement, wanting to win in the marketplace, really wanting to do out best every single day,” said Gold.
