Luke Maier Blog

  The Drama: How Controversy Became the Real Marketing Strategy I remember sitting in the movie theater watching the first trailer for The Drama , and one line stood out to me. The characters talked about revealing “the worst thing they’ve ever done.” At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I honestly assumed it would end up being something kind of lame or overhyped like most movie twists. But after the movie was released, I started seeing articles and posts everywhere about how the film included a major dark twist that audiences were not warned about. People were saying it needed a trigger warning and that the marketing was misleading. That is when I became interested. Instead of pushing me away, all of the backlash actually made me want to see the movie more. It also made me question whether this was intentional. I started to wonder if the marketing team wanted this exact reaction in order to get people talking. After reading more about the situation, it became clear that the ...

From Disgust to Dollars: Viral Marketing in Fast Food  I first saw the video of the McDonald's CEO circulating online, mostly on Instagram. At first, it just seemed like another promotional clip, but it quickly went viral for the wrong reasons. About a week later, I noticed that Burger King released a parody of the same type of video. That’s what really caught my attention. I thought it was a smart move because Burger King was clearly paying attention to what was trending online and took advantage of an opportunity that McDonald’s unintentionally created.                                             McDonalds CEO Taste Test - The Independent In the original McDonald’s video, the CEO is shown trying a burger, but many viewers felt that his reaction looked awkward and even slightly disgusted. He took a very small bite and didn’t seem enthusiastic, which is not a great look w...