News

McDonald's launches transparency campaign about its menu

October 15, 2014

McDonald's USA has launched a campaign called "Our Food. Your Questions," inviting customers to ask questions about the brand’s menu via social media channels.

The transparency campaign is similar to the one McDonald’s launched in Canada in 2012 and earned the company marketing awards. 

According to a news release, McDonald's will respond to questions with behind-the-scenes webisodes and other social content that provide information on ingredients, how food is made and how it's prepared in restaurants.

"We're proud of the food we serve our 27 million U.S. customers every day, yet we know people have unanswered questions," Kevin Newell, EVP, chief brand and strategy officer for McDonald's USA, said in the release "So, we're inviting everyone in the U.S. on a journey to learn more about our food. We look forward to the opportunity to have an open conversation and to show people firsthand how we make our most iconic menu items."

To help with the campaign, McDonald’s has recruited Grant Imahara, former host of the Discovery Channel’s "Mythbusters" series, to "uncover real answers to tough questions by visiting suppliers and restaurants across the country."

The visits will be shown through video vignettes that will appear on the company's website, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channels. McDonald's said it will take to these same channels to answer food questions, share multimedia content and engage in open conversation.

"In today's 24/7 news cycle, people are looking for faster, more straightforward responses to their questions about our food," said Ben Stringfellow, vice president of communications for McDonald's USA. "We have great information to share and we're looking forward to engaging in two-way conversations with as many people as possible."

Also this week, McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald has signed up on Instagram. His profile refers to him as a "world traveler, smile seeker and clown."

"Let’s discover together how fun makes great things happen all around the world," his profile says.

In April, the company announced it was giving Ronald McDonald a makeover that included taking a more active role in social media.