The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and brands are continually seeking innovative methods to engage their audiences. Our last Marketing Accountability Council (MAC) discussion highlighted the contrasting approaches of Currys and McDonald’s in their attempts to achieve cultural relevance. While both brands employed playful and unexpected strategies to capture attention, the conversation emphasized the importance of distinguishing authentic brand agility from mere performative marketing tactics.
The Currys Pitbull Play: Agile, Attuned, and Strategic
Let’s start with Currys. Currys plc (formerly Dixons Carphone plc) is a British multinational electrical and telecommunications retailer, a household name in the UK and Ireland [1]. With roots tracing back to 1884, Currys has traditionally been the go-to for everything from televisions to washing machines, often associated with a more conventional, high-street retail experience. However, in recent years, particularly since its 2021 rebrand that unified several sister brands under the single "Currys" name, the company has embarked on a deliberate mission to modernize its image [1]. Their current brand vision, "We Help Everyone Enjoy Amazing Technology," signals a strategic shift from merely selling products to empowering customers to experience and benefit from technology throughout their lives [2].
This ambition underpins their renewed marketing approach. Currys has been actively working to shed its "dated, buttoned-up retailer" image and become a brand that feels "relatable, witty, and culturally in tune," especially with younger, digital-first audiences [3]. Their social media strategy, for instance, has moved beyond simple product promotion to embracing platform-native content, jumping on trending audio, memes, and culturally relevant moments with a humorous, self-aware tone that feels more like a group chat than a corporate pitch. This push isn't about vanity metrics; it's about making Currys "belong in the feed" [3].
This strategic foundation is precisely why the Pitbull moment resonated so powerfully. Currys made headlines when it responded to a peculiar online campaign: UK fans rallying to get rapper Pitbull to visit a remote store. Instead of ignoring the meme—or worse, awkwardly hijacking it—Currys leaned in. Hard. They brought "Pitbull" to the concert, in the form of staff dressed in his signature bald head and suit, distributing free worldwide chargers to concert-goers [4]. This wasn't just a random act; it was a demonstration of their new brand personality in action.
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It worked. Why? Because it wasn't just a stunt, it was the right kind of stunt, plugged into a broader brand repositioning strategy. The Pitbull campaign, although not focused on new logos or fonts, perfectly embodied Currys' desired brand traits: wit, playfulness, and a deep understanding of popular culture. It added texture to their strategy by showing, not just telling, what a more approachable, digitally fluent Currys could look like. The use of humor and surprise cuts through the noise of more traditional retail ads. And it respected the consumer’s intelligence, aiming to delight rather than manipulate. This agile, culturally attuned engagement demonstrated their commitment to "belonging in the feed" rather than simply interrupting it.
McDonald’s Tweet: When Authenticity Feels Like a Brand Workshop Exercise
Compare that with McDonald’s. The global titan attempted its own “human moment” with a quirky, seemingly off-script tweet about the return of the Snack Wrap: "I don't usually do this, and I didn't run this by Brian from Legal. Sorry, Brian. But I have something to say, not as McDonald's, but as the person behind the McDonald's account." [5]. It was the kind of thing you might expect from a smaller, scrappier brand trying to inject some levity into a crowded feed. And sure, the tweet itself was fine. Harmless. Even kinda cute.
But that’s the problem. For a global brand of McDonald’s scale, a single tweet trying to appear “relatable” rings a little… manufactured. The peril of manufactured authenticity for large corporations like McDonald's is that every communication is viewed through a lens of skepticism, especially when the underlying business faces significant challenges. McDonald's is a market leader grappling with rising menu prices (up 40% since 2019) [6], shifting health perceptions (influenced by trends like Ozempic) [7], and fierce competition from every ghost kitchen and fresh-prep service imaginable. The real question isn’t whether the tweet was funny. It’s whether it matters. And in this case, it doesn’t. Not because humor doesn’t work, but because it was disconnected from anything of substance. A human-sounding tweet doesn’t fix the real issue: people aren’t sure they still want what McDonald’s is selling. That’s not a tone problem. That’s a relevance problem.
Credit Where It’s Due: Courage, Curiosity, and a Bit of Chaos
Let’s be fair: Currys deserves serious applause, not just for riding a meme wave, but for having the courage to run with something this off-the-wall. You know, there was a “Wait, are we doing this?” moment in that meeting. And someone—bless them—said yes. That kind of creative leap doesn’t happen in rigid, approval-obsessed cultures. It takes vision, guts, and an understanding that in modern marketing, weird + aligned = gold. Lesson noted.
And yes, McDonald’s gets some credit too. Because while the tweet didn’t shake the brand’s foundations, it did take a swing at something most corporates are allergic to: sounding like an actual human. That’s no small thing. Too many businesses still write like robots delivering TED Talks. It’s dry, it’s dull, and it’s deeply forgettable.
So if there’s one practical takeaway for every brand reading this: Loosen the tie. Write like a person. Drop the blah-blah-corporate voice. It’s killing your connection.
Human beats polished—every time.
The Lesson: You Can’t Hack Your Way to Trust
Here’s the truth most marketers need to hear: Authenticity isn’t a tone of voice. It’s a system.
It’s not enough to be funny or self-aware in one moment if everything else you do screams “committee-approved messaging with legal breathing down our neck.” Modern consumers are savvier than we give them credit for. They know the difference between connection and manipulation. They know when you’re trying to sound like a person versus actually being a brand that behaves like one.
And this is where the Currys vs. McDonald’s contrast becomes something bigger. It’s a case study in the evolving rules of brand building.
Five Hard-Earned Rules for Marketing That Work in 2025
Authenticity Is Not a Binary—It's a Spectrum. You’re not either “authentic” or “fake.” You’re somewhere in between, and your job is to move toward trustworthiness, not perfection. Currys embraced cultural attunement. McDonald’s attempted to create a sense of perceived intimacy. One landed. One faded.
Ask yourself: Is this helping customers see who we are, or just who we wish we sounded like?
You Can’t Outsmart a Broken Value Proposition. The best campaign in the world won’t save a brand people feel is overpriced, irrelevant, or out of sync with their lives. McDonald’s’ tweet didn’t fail because it was bad. It failed because it was disconnected from the real problem: eroding value perception.
As the Marketing Nonsense Neutralizer would say: if your marketing solution doesn’t match the actual business problem, it’s just decoration.
Moments Are Cheap. Movements Are Earned. Virality isn’t a strategy. If you want a sustainable brand, you need more than a moment; you need a momentum engine. Currys is building one, fueled by humor, consistency, and cultural relevance. It’s not just reacting; it’s narrating a larger shift in who they are.
Agility Is a Skill, Not a Department. Marketing teams often claim to be “agile,” but the truth is that most are still stuck in 3-month planning cycles and approval chains that stifle spontaneity. Currys moved fast because they could. It wasn’t magic, it was structure. If your organization isn’t designed to respond quickly to culture, you’ll always be late to the party.
Reminder: marketing organizations still clinging to pre-digital workflows aren’t agile—they’re archaic.
“Off-Script” Only Works If You Know Your Script Cold. The most successful “spontaneous” moments happen inside a well-defined brand character. You can deviate from the script if everyone is familiar with the core story. Otherwise, your playful tweet feels… random.
Marketing Worth Doing
In a cynical, overstimulated world, consumers are seeking meaningful interactions, not gimmicks masquerading as authenticity. The brands that win in this new era won’t be the ones with the cleverest copywriters or the flashiest campaigns. They’ll be the ones that show up consistently, speak human, and deliver real value, over and over again.
Sometimes that’ll look like Pitbull dancing in a store. Sometimes it’ll mean not tweeting at all.
Either way, the lesson’s the same: if you're going to break through, make sure you're not just being cute—make sure you're being clear, aligned, and honest. Because people can smell BS faster than ever, and they’re not buying it anymore.
Citations:
[1] Currys plc Corporate Website. (n.d.). About Us. (General company information and history).
[2] Currys plc Corporate Website. (n.d.). Our Strategy. (Brand vision and strategic priorities).
[3] Axies Digital. (n.d.). Currys Taps into Viral Marketing. (Discussion of Currys' Gen Z slang campaign and social media strategy).
[4] The Manc. (2025, May 14). Pitbull Concert Experience with Surprise Guests. TikTok Video. (Details and footage of the Pitbull stunt).
[5] McDonald's Official X (Twitter) Account. (Date of Tweet, if available). Tweet regarding Snack Wrap. (Specific text of the tweet as cited in the discussion).
[6] Smith, J. (2025, February 20). McDonald's Prices Up 40% Since 2019, Impacting Customer Visits. [News Article Source, e.g., Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal].
[7] Johnson, A. (2024, November 15). Ozempic Trend Affecting Fast Food Sales, Report Suggests. [News Article Source, e.g., The New York Times, Reuters].
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