• by Emily Burg , March 1, 2007

McDonald's is pairing Hispanics's largely Catholic religion with the population's penchant for using cell phones to access the Internet in a newly launched multi-channel promotion to hype its Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

It is timed to coincide with the start last week of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, during which Catholics don't eat meat on Fridays and some Christians eliminate meat from their diet altogether.

The campaign, created by Moroch Partners, Dallas, and including radio, TV and in-store promotion in 40 markets, centers on filetofish.com, which features dolphin vs. man interactive games Aquatic Tennis and Ocean Commotion. The site is co-branded by Coca-Cola, sharing top real estate with McDonald's on nearly every page.

There is a large mobile component to the campaign, with downloads, wallpapers and ring tones associated with the Filet-O-Fish and mobile games designed by London-based I-play, a McDonald's content partner. I-play is providing three free game demos, including a "Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" racing game.

Mobile content can be accessed by sending a text message saying "FOF," for Filet-O-Fish to short code 37438. The Hispanic version of the promotion will use "FOF 1." In general, Hispanics tend to respond better to SMS-based promos than online ones as the proliferation of mobile phones is higher among that population and is their most popular way of connection to the Internet.

Meanwhile, chicken chain KFC for the first time introduced its own fish sandwich, the Fish Snacker, and has asked the Pope to bless it. The company is marketing the sandwich generally but said the timing of its launch was intended to coincide with Lent. Most fast food companies have a fish alternative on the menu, especially during the holy season.