McDonald's Facebook Fiasco

I am going to talk about a McDonald's Facebook post that appeared on my News Feed this week. The post was a picture of the Bering Sea with the caption "Explore the depths of the Bering Sea and the source of our famous Filet-O-Fish".  The picture and caption caught my attention because it clashed with my perception of McDonald's.  The pretty picture and caption evoked an image of nature and fresh seafood.  Unfortunately for McDonald's, the majority of the comments on the picture seemed to be people mocking McDonald's post.

Here are some of the comments:

I've always wondered where exactly they find square fish swimming around. NOW I know! ; )
Yeah you are responsible to get everybody so fat
Wait....ur fish patty consists of 10 different fish.
Whoa! I was nearly positive filet'o'fish came from a puppy mill. D:
Why does my comment keep getting deleted? Does the truth really upset you that much? Then don't do it.

Many of the posts were mocking McDonald's for linking their fish sandwich to fresh caught fish.  Other people were posting about McDonald's being unhealthy and gross.  I think people were upset with this post because the message it's trying to convey is contrary to what people find at the restaurants.  People do not associate McDonald's with quality but instead with low cost food.  I understand that McDonald's is trying to improve its brand perception of freshness and quality ingredients, but from looking at these posts it doesn't appear consumers believe it.  Consumers see a disconnect between these marketing messages and what they actually experience in the restaurants. If McDonald's wants positive responses to this type of marketing they need to work on the quality of their products so it matchs what they are trying to portray.  It is also interesting that McDonald's lacks customer brand advocates who might respond to all the negative posts about this picture.  McDonald's should be more careful about what they post and make sure it fits with their brand and consumer perceptions of the brand.

Still never seen a perfectly square fish...