Posted by It isn’t fiction. Ice cream wars are ramping up in the fast food world, and the players in this matchup are Jack in the Box versus McDonald’s.
Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Jack in the Box is hoping to tap into consumer frustration over McDonalds’ notoriously unreliable ice cream machines, and redirect customers to the nearest Jack in the Box location, where it happens that the ice cream will be flowing just fine.
Jack in the Box will take the opportunity to offer their limited-time Oreo Cookie Mint Shake as an alternative to McDonalds’ signature St. Patty’s seasonal Shamrock Shake – the one you couldn’t get because, well, McDonalds’ ice cream machines were broken. Again.
Jack in the Box will employ trolling technology to achieve this coup, taking over a website known as “McBroken.com” during the month of March – a site where consumers can do a quick search through McDonald’s mobile API to learn whether ice cream machines are working at their local McDonald’s location. Jack in the Box hopes banners they run on this site will connect with customers at their point of frustration, warning them not to get “McShammed” and drawing them to Jack in the Box offerings instead.
That such a site even exists confirms the extent of the burger giant’s ice cream machine woes and the pervading customer dissatisfaction over the same – a problem for the Golden Arches that actually prompted an FTC investigation and a $900 million lawsuit.
To further lure away McDonald’s consumers, Jack in the Box will place a link to their own app on the McBroken site, along with a coupon. And of course, their pledge of ice cream you can always count on. How McDonald’s fires back in response to this attack on their customer base remains to be seen, but it promises to be entertaining. Read more here: https://www.marketingdive.com/news/jack-in-the-box-trolls-mcdonalds-over-broken-ice-cream-machines/619702/.