Real World Promotion...

Yesteday, McDonald's began to roll out packaging featuring pictures of customers. Not models. Real people. Twenty-four real people to be exact, picked from an "open casting call" of 13,000 entries from around the world, according to Reuters.

"It's about real people connecting with our brand," said McDonald's CMO Mary Dillon. "People are really interested in reality."

Reminds me of the early 80's TV shows "Real People" and "That's Incredible!". But where those shows featured real people doing unusual things, today's trend is about ordinary folks often doing ordinary things. I think we like seeing other's people's flaws because it makes us feel better about ourselves.

As I often told Beth when we were newlyweds, "I love you warts and all."

She didn't like the warts part. So, I stopped saying it. But in reality, I think what makes people different often makes them interesting. Warts and all.

That's why there is such a push for "user generated content" like blogs and You Tube. Not because the average person is necessarily more interesting. But because sometimes they just say it in a much more interesting way. A way that's real. A way that's authentic. I think it touches on what author Tony Schwartz (http://www.tonyschwartz.org), calls "The Responsive Chord."

Is your advertising contrived or authentic? Does it feel real or is it too flashy and plastic? How can you make your ads feel more real?

- Phil Sasso