In this article:
- Jack in the Box is running ads targeting McDonald’s for its often-broken ice cream machines.
- The ads support of Jack in the Box’s new shake, a rival to the Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s.
- The campaign ran on McBroken.com, where people can see which McDonald’s locations have functioning ice cream machines.
Fast food chain Jack in the Box decided to think outside the box this St. Patrick’s Day.
Become the best CRMer you can:
CRM Hack: Monitoring the User’s Heartbeat
What Does It Mean to Treat a Customer’s Email With Respect?
To Lock or Not to Lock Customers (into CRM Journeys)
What the Efforts to Promote Responsible Gaming Look Like Form the Inside
Jack in the Box launched a new item in recent weeks, their Oreo Cookie Mint Shake to compete with McDonald’s Shamrock Shake, which it sells every March. To advertise the Oreo Cookie Mint Shake, Jack in the Box placed advertisements on the website McBroken.com, which shows McDonald’s locations where the soft serve ice cream machine is out of service. McDonald’s is somewhat notorious as hit or miss when it comes to ice cream availability.
The ads, which were still live on McBroken.com after St. Patrick’s Day, urge customers not to get “McShammed” by broken ice cream machines. Plus, by using the code McShammed, people can get a shake for $2 through the Jack in the Box app.
Jack in the Box also took over the site for a month, and people can see Jack in the Box locations, as well as McDonald’s locations with working or broken ice cream machines. The West Coast-based burger joint said it hoped the campaign would “point shake-starved citizens to their closest Jack in the Box and get through their McDisappointment,” according to USA Today.
McBroken.com was created by software engineer Rashid Zahid in 2020. The site shows overall statistics on McDonald’s ice cream machines’ performance. More than 10% of the machines were broken down across the country as of March 20, 2022. You can also see the percentages of certain cities, like New York, New York, Chicago, Illinois, and others.
This new campaign isn’t the first time Jack in the Box has “trolled” McDonald’s for its ice cream machine problems. In July 2021, Jack in the Box posted a TikTok video calling out the company for its ice cream issues, and telling viewers to “slide thru” for their shake and dessert needs.
Die-hard fans of the Shamrock Shake look forward to its return to McDonald’s every year, and don’t want to be disappointed by a broken ice cream machine. Jack in the Box is smartly positioning itself as the reliable provider of St. Patrick’s Day treats, and using humor to drive that home with its campaign.