Still Not Lovin’ It

I visited McDonald’s for breakfast this morning, and was subjected to more goofy ad copy. (See my January 26 post, “Not Lovin’ It.”) The table at which I ate my meal had an advertisement on it for mocha and iced mocha. The product was described this way:

freshly ground espresso beans, smooth milk, & velvety chocolate

There are a number of problems here. First, there is really no such thing as “espresso beans.” Espresso is a method of brewing coffee, so any coffee beans used in an espresso machine are, by definition, espresso beans. But this isn’t saying much.

Then there is the matter of smooth milk. What is that? Does anyone think that McDonald’s might use lumpy milk? Clearly, some Madison Avenue type thought that an adjective was needed to describe the milk in McDonald’s mocha and iced mocha. Could the agency really do no better than smooth? Why not fresh? The phrase smooth milk makes about as much sense as white milk or unspoiled milk.

Finally, there is that ampersand. Most authorities would say that the ampersand should have been replaced by “and”; space was not at a premium, and no other rule dictated the use of an ampersand. A more serious problem is the presence of the comma before the ampersand. It may not be a logical rule, but there is a rule that a comma never precedes an ampersand.

The ad was, at least for me, a total failure. Instead of making me think of the product, all I could do is analyze the copy. McDonald’s needs a new agency.