MCDONALD'S SELECTS CAU AS SITE FOR THREE COMMERCIALS
CAU is lovin' it. This year, the university was the site for three national McDonald's
commercials, involving our students as performers and production interns.
The Drumline spot features our drum major, Cass Gray, and the drumline section
of the Mighty Marching Panther Band, chanting and playing about the good
deal you get in McDonalds. Second, the Campus
spot for Chicken Selects/Day version has
three of our business students, including Miss
CAU 2005-06, Jacqueline Payne, munching on the
product on a McDonalds set constructed in front
the Woodruff Library. Payne delivers a testimony
on how good the product tastes. The third commercial is Campus Night version,
with recent graduate Shakira Morrissette enjoying the Chicken Selects product
as well.
Students were paid by guidelines set by the Screen Actors Guild, while
the university received a financial contribution and location agreement fees.
This was a marketing bonanza for the university, says Larry Calhoun, who
served as CAU's coordinating producer on the project. We were able to hitch our
name to multimillion dollar advertising campaigns from a popular consumer
product and be seen in millions of households across the nation, Mexico and the
Bahamas. No other college or university can make such a claim.
To celebrate the success of the commercials, a joint promotion, Catch the Beat of
CAU at Mickey Ds, was held in April at the West End McDonalds. The block party
event featured the marching band, Essence dancers and cheerleaders. CAU administrators
and McDonalds executives participated in the program. Ronald McDonald
and Homer, the Atlanta Braves mascot, helped entertain the crowd.
|
