The best way to make people want something desperately is to release it in small quantities or for a limited period of time. McDonald’s is returning its iconic McRib, a sandwich with a boneless pork patty molded into the shape of ribs, to the US market, but for just one month.
The upcoming launch is a long-awaited is a real holiday for die-hard fans of McDonald’s as the item appeared on the chain’s menu nationwide only twice—in 1982 and in 1994 (the last time it was tribute to the Flintstones movie). This time the company decided to keep to the traditional scheme and make the burger available across the country only for five weeks, from November 2 till December 5. «To keep it relevant and appealing to our customers, it will continue to be offered as a limited-time promotion,» stated Ashlee Yingling, spokesperson for McDonald’s USA, explaining why the chain doesn’t want to include the burger to the menu for a longer time.
McDonald’s celebrates the come-back of the burger with a campaign dubbed «The Legends of McRib» developed by Omnicom’s Tribal DDB, which invites consumers to write their own stories (true or not real). AdAge reports that the winner of the competition will win a trip to Germany (where the McRib is available all year round) and will get his or her story animated and later used in the brand’s digital projects. McDonald’s is also returning its TV advert “Love” that was first released in September 2008, in which people are enjoying McRibs and is launching another two themed spots, which will be running through November 22.
Ahead of the burger’s, arrival fans have also created several websites and dedicated pages on social media networks, ranging from a locator hub which helps find where to find a McRib to numerous pages on Facebook. «Bloggers talk about the McRib, fans create websites to track it, and we want to capitalize on that. We want to keep the love for this product alive online, and we want fans to talk about the sandwich,» commented Brad Hunter, senior director-marketing for McDonald’s USA.