McDonald's Highlights Quality Ingredients in New Ad

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald's Corp. is focusing on quality ingredients and the farmers who provide them in its new ad campaign, according to media reports. The company shared a 15-second preview clip last week featuring potato farmer Frank Martinez and his crops.

The campaign is set to kick off Jan. 2 and will include TV, print and digital ads plus additional paid and earned media. The ads will run sporadically through 2012.

McDonald's Chief Marketing Officer Neil Golden shared a preview of the first commercial from the @McDListenTour Twitter account during the third session of the "McDonald's Listening Tour." During the session, Golden tweeted, "One thing we're doing is telling our farm-to-fork story about our food." The full campaign will feature Martinez and fellow potato farmer Jenn Bunger, lettuce farmer Dirk Giannini and beef ranger Steve Fogelsong of Black Gold Ranch. "The McDonald's system is committed to working together to more proactively tell the McDonald's food quality story to showcase where our food comes from, what's in it and how it is prepared," the company said in a statement.

In November, the company severed ties with Sparboe Egg Farms after undercover footage revealed apparent animal abuse at its facilities, and pork supplier Smithfield Foods has vowed to phase out small cages for pregnant pigs by 2017. However, Golden said this new campaign is unrelated to recent events and has been in the planning process for almost a year.