The Golden Arches and its franchisee groups have made a decision as to the future of its local advertising.
According to Advertising Age, McDonald’s, along with its franchisees across the U.S., have selected seven ad agencies.
The move comes after the QSR put its local creative accounts in review, in a cost-cutting and consolidation effort. McDonald’s of late had roughly 60 agencies handling the local advertising for some 200 co-op groups across the U.S.
Now, Ad Age reports while citing unnamed sources, agencies Bernstein-Rein and Fahlgren are collaborating as a team and staying on as incumbent agencies.
Four other incumbents, Moroch, Stern, Davis Elen and H&L, are also staying on.
Three newcomers appear to be in the mix: Doner, Fort Lauderdale-based Zimmerman Advertising, and Hispanic-focused multicultural shop López Negrete Communications.
McDonald’s media efforts are already handled by Omnicom unit OMD.
As recently as 2014, McDonald’s was the consistent No. 1 advertiser in Media Monitors’ TV Spot Ten. However, that activity has ebbed.
Similarly, McDonald’s last appearance in Media Monitors’ Radio Spot Ten came in July 2016. That’s notable, as rival Burger King was the top advertiser on Media Monitors’ Cable TV Spot Ten in April 2017, with McDonald’s absent.
