No burger, no problem? The power of product in fast food advertising

Fast food advertising has become a cultural force, shaping not only how we eat but also how we think about convenience, cravings and indulgence. Every jingle, billboard and video ad is meticulously crafted to tap into our desires, often creating a sense of urgency and excitement that makes that next burger, taco or pizza seem irresistible. 

But behind the scenes, there’s a lot of strategy involved in making these ads so effective. 

I was recently asked about the role a product plays in fast food advertising, specifically whether fast foods can be advertised successfully without showing the actual product. 

Curious, I put this to the test on the Zappi platform. Using our auto tagging capability, I used our AI models to identify the presence of products in fast food ads in both the US and UK to better understand: 

• The frequency fast food products are shown across ads 

• The nuance of how present the products are in the ad, such as how long and how prominently 

• How presence of the product impacts ad performance 

From our data, I gained three takeaways about the power of products in advertising, including a small twist. Read on for a breakdown of what I learned.

The vast majority of fast food ads feature the product quite heavily. Think: Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell. How many times have you seen that quarter pounder, bucket of chicken or crunchwap?     

According to our research, in the UK, only 27% of ads showed the product for less than 10% of the time. There were also very few ads that didn’t show the product at all. In fact, almost half (46%) not only showed the product for over 30% of the ad, but showed the product as the hero image, dominating the screen, for over 30% of the ad.

In the US, since we had more ads to work with, we were able to break it down even further into more categories:

The US ads relied even more heavily on product shots than the UK, with the product typically featured for more than 30% of the ad. Only 1% of the ads did not show the product, while the majority (60%) very prominently display the product.

🍔 Takeaway: In both the US and UK, the majority of fast food ads make the product the star of the show. It’s rare for the product not to be shown at all, especially in the US.

Going a step further, we wanted to explore the effect of the presence of the product in these ads, particularly in terms of ad effectiveness. 

In the US, we saw that ads that showed the product for longer periods of time had a higher sales potential than those that didn’t show the product at all or only for a few seconds.

On average, the more prominent the product (shown for 30% or more of the ad) the more the ad resonated with consumers, the higher the brand recall and the stronger response there was to the ad.  

• More resonance: Ads where the product is more prominent on average are loved by 34% of people, versus 29% for ads where the product is featured for less than 10% of the ad. And while this is a small proportion, it’s worth stating that 4% claim to feel confusion when a product isn’t featured versus only 1% when the product is featured (making narratives more clear and obvious).

• Better branding: Ads where the product is present for less than 10% of the ad achieve an average unaided brand recall percentile score (how likely a viewer is to remember your brand) of 34, compared to a score of 50 for ads where it is more prominent.

• Stronger response: For purchase uplift we saw an average percentile of 30 for ads with less than 10% product presence versus 50 for ads where it’s more prominent.  We saw the same pattern for brand appeal (39 versus 54).

🍔 Takeaway: The more a brand features the product in their fast food advertising, the more effective the ad will typically be — particularly in terms of positive consumer response to the brand and brand recall.  

Interestingly, one area where ads with lower product prominence excel is in ad distinctiveness.  

People typically expect a certain ‘formula’ when it comes to fast food ads. They expect to be faced with delicious, prominent product shots creating a strong desire for the product/brand. So when this doesn’t happen, they find it to be highly distinctive. This distinctiveness is valuable because it helps the ads grab attention and be noticed. 

As you can see below, ad distinctiveness reaches the peak for ads that barely show the product, closely followed by no product at all.

While going against the grain can certainly grab consumers attention and stand out from the clutter, the challenges brands face still stand: How do you stand out and do something unexpected while still cueing the brand? How do you generate love and brand desire without having the delicious food on display? 

Some of the best examples of successful fast food advertising that doesn’t rely heavily on product shots come from McDonald's. Their brand equity campaigns in the UK, and similarly in the US, focus much more on the role of McDonald’s in culture and in people’s lives rather than focusing on the product itself, like in their “Raise Your Arches” campaign ad above.  

This allows them to create ads that are distinctive, differentiate the brand and are highly resonant (the use of love and humor). Additionally, branding (which can be a challenge for many brands when featuring less product) is established through the many distinctive brand assets McDonald’s has that goes beyond the product, such as the arches, yellow and red color combinations and more.

🍔 Takeaway: If you want to be distinctive, you have to do something different or unexpected. While most effective fast food advertisements focus on the product, if you’re looking to stand out from the crowd, you could consider taking a different route. But remember, more distinct doesn’t automatically mean ‘better,’ which is why you should always research your ideas with consumers — especially before taking a big leap.  

While it’s not surprising that most brands feature their fast food products in their ads and that this move typically results in more effective ads, it was interesting to see that there’s an opportunity for brands to be more distinctive by going the complete opposite route. There are, of course, many factors that go into creating a great ad and there is much to consider in this ‘opposite route’ to ensure the distinctiveness is harnessed for the brand and can still create product desire. 

But if you’re itching to go against the norm and stand out, I say go for it! And remember that researching with consumers should always be at the heart of your process to truly make something great.