For marketers wondering what AI can do to help market and
advertise a brand, look at McDonald's' first foray into the technology. And in a sense, it's consumer generated. McDonald's provided the technology. In exchange, it promotes a new dessert and gains
consumer leads.
McDonald's stepped into artificial intelligence by creating a microsite that offers a tool where consumers can send personal messages to their grandma.
The site promotes “Grandma McFlurry" and meant to “Send grandma a sweet message.”
Grandma McFlurry, inspired by memories of
grandma, is McDonald's latest dessert that combines vanilla soft serve ice cream with butterscotch-flavored crumbles and butterscotch syrup. The taste, according to the press release, resembles
Werther’s original Butterscotch hard candies.
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It invites users to record video messages and translate them into a different languages, if necessary, with just a few clicks.
The
company will purchase media for several television spots that will begin airing Monday. The site went live on Friday.
The site uses the latest advancements in AI through the use of
voice cloning and lip sync technology to transform individual videos into one of the 26 languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Italian, and Vietnamese.
The user may record the message in
English, but when the technology transfers the words into another language, it will look and sound like they are speaking a new language.
The program will be promoted
nationally through a series of commercials exploring the language barrier between foreign-born grandparents and their U.S.-born grandchildren.
Users can create the video and audio
recording through the camera on the phone or PC in a specific language and upload it to the platform. The technology translates it to the language requested on the list.
The technology prompts
the user to use natural light, position the camera above eye level, wear neutral and solid colors, and choose a clean and uncluttered background. Then it prompts the user to align their face to the
center of the circle on the screen and start recording. It gives the user 30 seconds to create a message.
The user does need to provide some personal information, such as their name and email
address, which allows McDonald's to create leads for future marketing and advertising. The prompt asks for a first and last name, along with a personal email address. The message is then
translated.
An order online page serves up next with a note that reads “Grandma would want you to have one.”
It's not clear why the messages are only geared toward
grandmothers and not grandfathers, but perhaps they miss stepped considering Father's Day falls in June.