not lovin' it

[Not.]

Rumor has it McDonald's will be launching a new campaign "Lovin' Beats Hatin'." I get where they are coming from, using this as a way to build on the "I'm lovin' it" campaign (and they say that slogan will stay around.) I can hear that "da-da da da da" refrain in my head and have a habit of saying "I'm lovin' " despite it being quite a while since my last Big Mac, so it seems the campaign was successful. I'm not sure that "Lovin' Beats Hatin' " is the right way to go, however.

I'm not a McDonald's fan, so maybe I'm in the minority, but I think this butts up against something that should be avoided in advertising- saying what you don't want people to think.

McDonald's knows they face a myriad of criticisms- charges that they are causing a childhood obesity epidemic, Super Size Me, being the focus of the fast food workers unionization movement, pink slime, and the list goes on. So should McDonald's encourage loving over hating? Or does it just feel like Mickey D is asking people to not hate them?

design, explained by donuts

[A better way to explain design, thanks to Lauren of redjotter.]