Marketing in the News: NFL, McDonald's, and their McParlays

By Rocky Zachary

Let’s talk about football - more specifically, how your favorite (participating) NFL teams can score you free McDonald's. An ongoing McDonald's marketing campaign immediately caught my attention because of its one-two punch of free things and football (2 things of which I am quite passionate about). As a football fan and someone who appreciates free stuff, I was magnetized by how McDonald's uses the excitement of football fans to engage its audience while offering something everyone loves: free food. This promotion is not something advertised, which I find interesting, and I wanted to dive deeper into how they pull it off and why they keep it so "if you know you know".

The Campaign

    Picture this: Your team - let's use the Seattle Seahawks as an example - You're watching the TV diligently as you see the team they're against line up for a field goal, you hold your breath and cover your mouth. Snap, kick, suspense building as you watch the ball fly through the air, "He misses the field goal! Wide right!". You look at your phone and see a notification from Mcdonald's, "Free Chicken McNuggets with any $2 Purchase: Seahawks Game Day Special!"

    Why is this so smart? First, it’s interactive. It’s not just about watching the game but also participating in the fun, think of it like a sports bet you don't have to pay for ahead of time. Second, it’s social media gold. People are posting, sharing, and talking about it before, during, and after the games, which keeps McDonald's top of mind.

    Almost every participating team has different incentives to hit for the promos to activate. The example I used was for the Seattle Seahawks but there are multiple other teams with different promos. The Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, and Minnesota Vikings are all examples of teams participating in the promotion with varying rewards.

Why It Works

    McDonald's is genius for this for a multitude of reasons; It's a win-win for both McDonald's and the NFL, improving the number of fans watching the games as well as improving the game-watching experience. It gives fans something tangible to root for, rather than just the love for their team. It also helps increase customers going to McDonald's, with a $2 purchase requirement, the sales numbers will skyrocket if the promo hits, as all of those people might not have otherwise gone to McDonald's. Even if your team isn’t playing (or, let’s be honest, isn’t winning), McDonald's gives you a reason to stay invested. You’re rooting for something as simple as a missed field goal, or a sack, and that excitement ties directly back to their brand.

    This is what separates McDonald's from the pack. This campaign isn’t just about a free Big Mac or McNuggets; It’s about the fun, the anticipation, and being part of something bigger. They’re not just selling food; they’re selling a moment, an unmatched hype of watching your favorite team get a sack, or scoring over 2 touchdowns. Does this sound similar to something else tied into sports relevancy lately? 

    Betting on player stats is a phenomenon that is very popular in the sports world currently, and McDonald's has their finger in the (apple?) pie in the best way possible. While sports betting companies are using the gambling tactic of "you give me money, and if your parlay hits, I give you back more money", McDonald's has it all figured out - they don't ask for anything from you until the field goal is missed, until the sack is made. Once this "parlay" of sorts hits - then they offer you a deal and all you have to do is pay $2 for it.

    Let’s face it: fast food is a marketing battlefield. Brands (including McDonald's) are dropping millions of dollars on flashy commercials. But McDonald's takes a different approach with this promotion specifically. They send you a quick notification, and that's it. No big flashy Super Bowl ad about "Free McNuggets when the Ravens force a missed field goal next year". They cater the promo to who they should - the fans. There are positives and negatives to this though. Of course, McDonald's has competition. Fast food giants like Burger King are always lurking, and their own NFL ad promotions can overshadow smaller campaigns. But McDonald’s creative, gamified strategy gives it an edge.

My Takeaways

    I think McDonald's is mostly nailing it with this campaign. It’s simple and encourages fans to not only stay engaged in the games but to make purchases afterward. However, I do think there are a few areas they could be doing better. They could be using the NFL team's social media pages to regularly promote the deal. Imagine the Ravens force a missed field goal against the Seahawks, and 5 minutes later, you open Instagram and see a collaboration post between McDonald's and the Ravens where it shows the play, and they do some sort of stupid/silly edit where the ball is a giant McNugget and after the ball goes wide right/left, it cuts to the promotion image. I think they could be using their resources with the NFL a lot better than they are, making it a commonly known thing, rather than the "if you know you know" system they have going on right now.

    If I were in charge, I would change a few things. I think they could take it even further than they have it now. Obviously, the things I talked about above, fixing the critiques I have of the campaign, but beyond that; What if they added an optional system in the app to pick your team? Imagine fans of the Bills who live in California, they aren't currently eligible for their team's promotion because they don't live in New York. But they could be if they added this to the app. It would also encourage those who might not otherwise watch the NFL to start watching. If someone signs up for the McDonald's app and is confused about why it's asking their favorite NFL team, a quick Google search will show the promo and boom, another NFL fan. Another idea is that McDonald's could partner with football influencers and content creators to hype up the campaign. A football influencer doing a challenge with McDonald's food during the game would be an instant hit. Imagine, for example, a video of Gronk having to eat a Big Mac for every sack throughout the game.

    McDonald's campaign is a reminder of how powerful word of mouth can be. This promotion isn't really advertised by McDonald's or the participating NFL teams, the most you really get is (sometimes) a notification on the app. It’s not just about the product (though who doesn’t love free food?), it’s about the experience of watching your favorite team and the hype that comes with those big moments. At the end of the day, people don’t just buy food - they buy into the vibe, the fun, and the overall energy behind it. McDonald's gets that, and that’s why their campaigns work so well.

Original Inspiring Articles: 

CBS: The Jets and McDonald's have a "Sacks for Big Macs" deal this season. Here's what it means for fans.

WKBW: New McDonald's partnership means Buffalo Bills fans can score free Big Macs and more