How McDonald's smashed their Ad without showing ANY products

We all want to hear those three beautiful words at least once in our life… fancy a maccies?

This universally adored invitation seems to be the central insight behind McDonald’s new TV spot - 60 seconds of pure joyous fun without as much as a Big Mac in sight.

If you travelled to the most remote corner of the world and asked someone local to name a brand, McDonald's is probably one of the first they’d come up with. The golden arches are ubiquitous worldwide; they trigger childhood nostalgia for birthday parties past, they’re there for you when you’ve had a few too many pints (the inspo for their recent OOH campaign in New Zealand) and most simply, when you’re hungry – they’ve got you. So, it’s unsurprising that the brand’s most recent TV spot doesn’t actually include any of McDonald’s famous products or restaurants.

The film is set in an office and starts with one employee drawing the famous arches on a post-it note and raising her eyebrows, she places it on her colleague’s screen and they both know what they’re having for lunch. Before long, the whole office has joined their pilgrimage to maccies raising their eyebrows (now firmly implied to be the famous arches) in time to the music. ?

The TVC is part of a wider campaign, #RaiseYourArches which included TV, digital and social, with a Snapchat and Instagram lens – capturing light TV viewers across several other channels. In-store activations are focused on encouraging app downloads, using cuts of the eyebrow raises to offer free food and discounts.

The ad is firm proof of the solidity of the McDonald’s brand and was only possible due to the years and years of brand-building activity that got McDonald’s to the position it’s in today. ?

It’s tempting to follow suit and create an ambitious campaign as a smaller brand, encouraging a new social contagion of your own (think Budweiser’s ‘wassup’) but our recommendation would be to focus on getting to a strong position of salience first.

I think I fancy some chicken nuggets now! ??

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The TVC was created by Leo Burnett London and directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arlXqMg4FO4