Annoying McDonald's Coffee Commercials Seem to Work

(MoneyWatch)  It looks like McDonald's is gaining some ground on Starbucks in the quick-service coffee war, according to one survey. Respondents who chose McDonald's as their go-to place increased from 4.9 percent in February to 5.4 percent in May, according to Worthington, Ohio-based BIGResearch's just released quarterly Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

During the same period, Starbucks lost ground, sliding from 9.6 percent of those polled to 9.2 percent. Dunkin' Donuts took a hit in the crossfire, dropping from five percent to 4.1 percent.

The survey also found that McDonald's coffee drinkers on average are older than Starbucks customers (47.7 years old versus 39.2), poorer (an annual income at $55,572 versus $67,487) and confident/very confident in the economy (33.7 percent versus 30.3 percent).

McDonald's rise comes on the heels of a major advertising push for the "upscale" McCafé concept it's deploying against Starbucks. You know, the ads that cloyingingly add a French-accented "é" at the end of words like "cubicle" and "commute."
They're everywhere, even endangering a fabulous NBA playoff season by popping up every 10 minutes or so during game breaks. McDonald's seems to believe that consumers really are simple-minded enough to robotically reach for a "McCafé" just because it's got an insipid earworm of a jingle.

Sadly, the company might be right. According to the BIGResearch survey, which the research firm carried out independently, McDonald's $100 million bet on the hideous campaign appears to be working. God forbid it becomes part of our lexicon.

Now excuse me while I go catch the Lakers and Kobé.

Update: Over at BNET Food, my colleague Katherine Glover notes that McDonald's coffee might not lag that far behind Starbucks' offerings in quality.