Weekly Report: McDonald's admits its promotional calendar backfired

This week on Ad Age Insider's Weekly Report: McDonald's opens up about how an overloaded promotional calendar, stacking a K-pop Demon Hunters tie-in, value messaging, beverage launches, and a FIFA World Cup push, confused customers and dragged down second-quarter sales, and what it reveals about the real cost of promotional saturation and the discipline brands need to know what to cut. Plus, the Martin Agency wins Subway's creative account after pitching a single "brutally simple" idea in its final review; Yahoo Sports leans on Robert Griffin III and BBDO for a college fantasy football push as part of its broader brand revival; Japan Airlines starts running paid ads on ChatGPT and adopts "share of model" as a new visibility metric as AI search reshapes travel discovery; and Lemonade and Cash Studios reward safe drivers in Texas with a message board that only lights up for cars going the speed limit.

Host Parker Herren breaks down what each story means for marketers navigating promotional overload, long-term brand platforms versus campaign-by-campaign thinking, authentic talent partnerships, and the shift from clicks to AI visibility as a marketing metric. Subscribe for weekly industry news roundups, plus biweekly deep-dive conversations with Ad Age reporters.

Dig deeper on the topics mentioned in this week's episode:

~McDonald's rethinks crowded promotional calendar

~Martin wins Subway's creative account

~Inside Robert Griffin III's back-to-school Yahoo College Fantasy Football ad

~How Japan Airlines will track its new ChatGPT ad strategy

~Lemonade's 'Slow Sign' salutes the 10% of Texans who drive the speed limit

~Vote for the best campaign of July 2026

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