The ads are part of the chain’s first unbranded marketing campaign, in which it is coyly asking people to search Google for “that place where Coke tastes so good.” The query, meant to capitalize on millions of search engine results
that favor the fast-food chain, is central to the ads where association with the brand is limited to placing Ms. Kaling in a bright yellow dress against a red backdrop.
A YouTube video of one of Ms. Kaling’s commercials also appeared under a channel named “That Place Where Coke Tastes So Good.”
Ms. Wahl said the company is prepared for people to try to interfere with the results,
which is by now a hallmark of ad campaigns that involve social media.
Selecting Ms. Kaling as a pitchwoman for this campaign was also a deliberate choice,
Ms. Wahl said, noting that she has been a vocal fan of the brand for years.
Ms. Wahl said McDonald’s did not pay for any of the Google results that rave about how Coke tastes at its restaurants.
“Google didn’t give us any tricks on search or anything,” Ms. Wahl said, adding
that gaming the system would have gone against the whole idea of the campaign.