McDonald's Looks to 'Lovin' to Boost Sales

NEW YORK — McDonald's Corp. unveiled a new marketing strategy and advertisements designed to emphasize the "love" in its "I'm Lovin' It" slogan. The fast-food chain is also rolling out new employee uniforms and food packaging, the Associated Press reported.

Animated McDonald's TV ads include examples of affection between the Joker and Batman, a man and a dog and other unlikely duos with the advice to "Choose Lovin'."

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based restaurant chain launched the strategy by posting a video online with comments by Deborah Wahl, chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA.

"Lately, the balance of lovin' and hatin' seems off. Who better than to stand up for lovin' than McDonald's?" asked Wahl.

She added that McDonald's intends to assume less and listen more to its customers. The new campaign invites customers to ask frank questions about its food and the new fruit option for Happy Meals, according to the news report.

The strategy launch was previously scheduled to take place during a Dec. 17 media event, but was canceled the week prior.

This shift in strategy comes as McDonald's struggles to reverse a decline in sales, which haven't seen a monthly gain in the United States since October 2013. In December, the company announced it would cut back on the number of menu items it offers, as well as the number of ingredients in its food, as CSNews Online previously reported.