McDonald's might as well turn its golden arches into the shape of a great, big heart as the giant fast food chain embarks on a new "love" strategy to counter slumping sales.

On Friday, the world's biggest restaurant company unveiled a new marketing campaign that would give more focus on the "lovin'" in its long-running "I'm Lovin' It" slogan. The company hopes the love will keep it together to reverse the slide after a year of declining revenues.

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"Lately, the balance of lovin' and hatin' seems off," U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said in a video posted online by the company. "Who better to stand up for lovin' than McDonald's? Lovin' sits at the heart of our tagline and it sits at the heart of our business."

"This new focus will inspire everything we do moving forward, from advertising and marketing to how we interact with customers in restaurants and on social media," the company said.

As part of the new campaign, McDonald's leaked TV ads that would be airing this week, including an animated video featuring such arch-enemies as Batman and the Joker, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and the Smurfs and Gargamel getting the love bug and sharing meals together. It ends with the words "Choose Lovin'" with concentric hearts transitioning the video to the golden arches logo.

Wahl calls the whole strategy "a brand transformation," adding that the company "is moving from a philosophy of billions served to billions heard."

Industry experts blame the decline in sales to higher commodity costs and an industry that is showing little or no growth. McDonald's also faces stiff competition from restaurants that offer fresher and healthier choices.

Last month, McDonald's had announced it would scale back and remove several items in its menu while introducing healthier dining options. It also hopes to bond more with customers by being more transparent, encouraging frank questions about their food through social media.  

McDonald's U.S. comparable sales dropped 4.6% in November and some experts predict a negative global same-store sales for the company in 2014.

TagsMcdonalds, lovin' it, marketing campaign, deborah wahl, declining revenues