Last month, McDonalds launched this cool viral marketing campaign for the debut of the Quarter Pounder in Japan. At one of the McDonald's chains in Osaka, 1,000+ customers were seen lined up in front of the store, some from midnight the night before opening. Well, we just learned that the crowd was also part of the fabrication. Apparently, McDonalds Japan had hired 1,000 part-time workers via a temp agency to kick off this line. The Mainichi says:
Fullcast recruited part-time workers on the Internet, describing the job with an hourly pay of 1,000 yen near Shinsaibashi Station as "Easy work, just waiting in line to buy a new product and eating it."
Given all the creative, not-necessarily-ethical things people do for marketing these days, I feel like it's ok. McDonald's Japan had record sales that month, 10.2 million yen worth of burgers, many of them Quarter Pounders.
Lining up for openings is not uniquely Japanese, but something that instantly ups credibility of any store or restaurant—especially in Japan. If you want to see this in action, go to any major shopping district in Tokyo on the day after New Years, when they start Lucky Bag sales.
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