Tag: McDonalds

Philippines – McDonald’s Philippines has launched “Ride the Arches,” a pedal-powered project that will turn McDonald’s outlets into cycling refuelling stops. The movement started when McDonald’s observed that more and more of its 700+ locations in the Philippines were turning into bikers’ favourite places to stop.

In 2021, the firm started investing in Bike & Dine infrastructure as a response to McDonald’s Philippines innovation. Bike & Dine amenities include integrated bike racks, dining ledges, bicycle-safe “Ride-Thrus,” and stations for repairing and charging e-bikes.

In a nation where four people own bicycles for every car, these facilities contribute to the lack of infrastructure that is bike-friendly. It can be difficult for cyclists to find secure locations for repairs, maintenance, and breaks, especially for e-bikes. 

McDonald’s then challenged Leo Burnett Manila to urge the nation to cycle by making McDonald’s establishments mandatory stops on any bike route. With stores in scenic locations such as Tagaytay, which offers views of Taal Volcano, Boracay, known for its white-sand beaches, and Intramuros, a historic walled city in Manila, Leo Burnett Manila launched “Ride the Arches.” This program encourages cyclists to visit some of the world’s best-known McDonald’s restaurants, particularly those equipped with Bike & Dine facilities. 

To launch “Ride the Arches,” McDonald’s challenged cycling organisations around the country to create routes that loop from arch to arch, with McDonald’s serving as both the beginning and finishing point. Additionally, the company enlisted cycling influencers to build and share their routes, which were then promoted on major cycling applications such as Strava and Komoot. 

McDonald’s organised a number of #TourDeMcDo bike rides for the community. Free food, special meals for cyclists, and merchandise for those who shared pictures or rode the most kilometres served as the fuel for these tours. 

With more than 100 routes and 51,000 kilometres of riding completed thus far, “Ride the Arches” plans to work with cycling organisations in cities that have McDonald’s Bike & Dine locations through 2024. The initiative will promote bicycle safety by planning and funding rides. In an effort to position McDonald’s restaurants as refuelling stations for riding communities—a place to rest, enjoy bike repair services, and eat their favourite McDonald’s foods—events are scheduled for World Bike Day on June 3 and National Bicycle Month in November.

Speaking about the campaign, Kenneth S. Yang, CEO and president of McDonald’s Philippines, said, “McDonald’s launched Bike & Dine facilities during the pandemic after seeing a surge in bike usage across the country. We saw an opportunity to improve the customer experience for our two-wheeled customers, and be an advocate for sustainable mobility— encouraging more customers to ride.” 

Meanwhile, Raoul Panes, chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Group Manila and Publicis Groupe Philippines, stated, “We loved the idea of using McDonald’s scale, infrastructure and operations to support a vast community of bike enthusiasts, adding value with rewards, and creating an always-growing network of routes that lead across our stunning country. By incentivising cyclists to ‘Ride the Arches’, McDonald’s has become the gateway to discovering some of the most beautiful places in the Philippines.”

Seoul, South Korea – McDonald’s Korea has partnered with global advertising agency Leo Burnett Korea to create its latest campaign that shines light on the living conditions mothers and other caregivers undergo when their child is hospitalised. 

Titled ‘Mom’s Bed’, the campaign puts a spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of mothers in South Korea that live in cramped, uncomfortable conditions on tiny caregiver beds for days, weeks, months—sometimes years—on end just to take care of their hospitalised children. 

McDonald’s and Leo Burnett Korea’s ‘Mom’s Bed’ campaign film depicts this very struggle that carers face, showing just how cramped and uncomfortable caregiver beds are. 

In South Korea, most hospitals regulate that legal guardians must accompany their sick children when they are hospitalized. However, the unique caregiving culture is often taken for granted, and the struggles faced by mothers or guardians are neglected. 

Furthermore, South Korea has only one RMHC (Ronald McDonald House Charities) in Yangsan, which is approximately 388 km away from Seoul, where most children’s hospitals are situated. 

As a partner of RMHC, McDonald’s wanted to highlight the need for an RMHC House in Seoul. Each RMCH house can support families with sick children by providing them with a home away from home and a more comfortable place to stay as they look after their child. One RMHC house will have around 100 rooms, a kitchen, a play room, and a learning space to accommodate up to 100 families. 

As part of the campaign, dozens of installations appeared overnight in locations around Seoul, highlighting how the city’s ubiquitous tiny benches are no bigger than parents’ hospital beds. Further, on streets, landmarks, shopping malls, and McDonald’s restaurants, the installations compare the actual size of ‘mom’s bed’ with universal bed sizes, each inscribed with a real mother’s name, while QR codes link to genuine stories to inspire change and invite donations.

Following a massive ‘Mom’s Bed’ installation in Goyang Starfield, one of Seoul’s largest shopping malls, influencers and ambassadors also took part and shared photos of themselves, further emphasising how unacceptable and uncomfortable caregiver beds are. This movement led to record-breaking donations to make RMHC possible. 

With this support, plans for a second Ronald McDonald House in Seoul are being discussed to help more families with sick children.

Haeyeon Lee, chief marketing officer at McDonald’s Korea, said, “With ‘Mom’s Bed’, we wanted to raise awareness of the desperate need for a RMH in Seoul.”

Also speaking on the campaign, SooHee Yang, chief creative officer at Publicis Groupe Korea, shared, “Learning about the hardships faced by so many parents was an incredibly humbling experience. We hope that more parents will sleep a little easier, ready to face whatever challenges might lie ahead, as a result of this campaign.”

Sydney, Australia – McDonald’s (Macca’s) has teamed up with DDB Sydney for its latest footy campaign, promoting Macca’s as the place to go during the Australian rules football or footy season in Australia. 

The campaign features a video showing some of the biggest names in footy, including Mitch Moses, Kezie Apps, Reuben Cotter, Jai Arrow, ‘Fletch’ and ‘Hindy’, Sam Thaiday, Ricky Stuart, and even the immortal Wally Lewis. 

The personalities are seen doing what they do best as halfback Mitch Moses feeds a hungry scrum, Sam Thaiday comments on his ‘huge hit’ of coffee, and Ricky Stuart takes part in a ‘post-meal’ press conference. 

Macca’s campaign film is also voiced by the legendary league commentator Ray Warren as it celebrates Footy being back on the menu. 

The film gives out the message that whether you’re a fan, coach, commentator, or star of Rugby League, there is no other place to head to before or after the game but Macca’s. It will also broadcast across TV, online video, out-of-home (OOH), paid social, digital, and in-stadium. 

Amanda Nakad, director of marketing at McDonald’s, said, “We know how much our customers love footy, and we are proud to provide a place for fans to meet before or after a game. Win or lose, we’ll always be there for fans, and this campaign is the perfect expression of that.” 

Matt Chandler, executive creative director at DDB Group Australia, also said, “It’s amazing the people who show up at Macca’s after the game. In this latest spot, Wally, Ricky, Ronald, and a proper dream team of league legends do a great job of helping Macca’s further build its connection with Aussie footy fans.” 

United States – Popular fast food chain McDonald’s has launched a new campaign catered to anime fans globally, and utilises the ever-popular ‘WcDonald’s’ anime gag being used across multiple anime and manga titles over time.

To do this, McDonald’s has partnered with popular Japanese animation house Studio Pierrot to produce the first official WcDonald’s anime. Four episodic shorts will take fans into the flavorful world of WcDonald’s, where a story about the WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets unfold each week.

It has also teamed up with manga artist/illustrator Acky Bright to design custom WcDonald’s packaging that will take fans deeper into the world of WcDonald’s with every meal. For a limited time, fans will receive manga-inspired packaging featuring WcDonald’s Crew characters, sketched by Acky himself.

A limited edition sauce will be also available, featuring a unique combination of ginger, garlic and soy with a slight heat from chili flakes packs an energetic blast of flavor in every bite.

Lastly, McDonald’s will be launching a multi-sensory dining experience in Los Angeles, California a genre-bending fusion of entertainment and food. Guests will be transported into the WcDonald’s universe through 360 projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonald’s anime episodic shorts – all while enjoying a set menu of WcDonald’s items. This will go live from March 9-10.

Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA, said, “Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years. The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”

Hong Kong – McDonald’s Hong Kong has ‘secretly’ partnered with creative agency DDB Group Hong Kong for the launch of its newest ‘#SNEAKJOY’ campaign that gives travellers a chance to enjoy the joy of sneaking.

The social campaign is largely based on the shared experiences of travellers who find some joy in sneaking their favourite food into unexpected places like aeroplanes.

Partnering up with Hong Kong International Airport, the first 1,000 people who show their boarding pass at the airport McDonald’s will receive a free apple pie that they can sneakily enjoy on the aeroplane.

As part of the special promotion, customers will have the opportunity to be rewarded with free Chicken McNuggets on their return to Hong Kong. They just have to share on social media their creative takes of their sneaky flight experience with the hashtag #SNEAKJOY and tag McDonald’s Hong Kong Instagram account.

The campaign will only run for three weeks, or until supplies last.

Tina Chao, chief marketing and digital customer experience officer at McDonald’s Hong Kong, said, “This campaign really celebrates the joy of having McDonald’s in unexpected places. Joy is a key value of our brand, and this is a playful way to showcase that we want to enable our customers to experience this emotion anytime and anywhere.”

Also speaking on the campaign, Andreas Krasser, CEO at DDB Group Hong Kong, commented, “This campaign is special because it taps into and amplifies an existing behaviour; it was of sorts already co-created with customers. We hope it will bring a lot of joy, as well as entertainment, to even more people along the way.”

Illinois, USA – Popular fast food chain McDonald’s has recently unveiled the inauguration of its latest mood-boosting brand spin-off CosMc’s, centred around beverage offerings.

CosMc’s is a beverage-centric concept with avant-garde flavours and mood-boosting treats, featuring unexpected flavour combinations to elevate their customers’ taste buds.

In its limited test phase, the menu ranges from specialty treats like lemonades and teas to indulgent blended beverages and cold coffee such as Sour Cherry Energy Slush, Tropical Spiceade, and S’mores Cold Brew.

Customers can also customise these drinks by adding popping boba, flavour syrups, energy or Vitamin C shots, and so much more.

The food front, on the other hand, encompasses savoury options, including spicy queso sandwiches, savoury hash brown bites, and pretzel bites served with dipping sauces.

Among the sweet choices, customers can also find blueberry lemon cookie sundaes and caramel fudge brownies, to name a few.

CosMc’s is set to open its doors this month in Illinois, USA; blending beverage creations with a selection of food, which includes some McDonald’s favorites.

By the end of 2024, it is anticipated to launch 10 pilot locations across the United States, providing more opportunities for mood-boosting getaways.

Taiwan – Prior to celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024, McDonald’s Taiwan kicks off a full year of festivities with its latest campaign called ‘Simple Happiness’, in collaboration with Leo Burnett Taiwan.

Starring Taiwanese pop icon Jolin Tsai, the film by Leo Burnett Taiwan depicts moments of simple happiness across four decades, beginning in 1984, the year McDonald’s Taiwan first opened its doors.

Leaping from 1988, when McDonald’s launched its first Happy Meal, through to 2024, when McDonald’s Taiwan will celebrate its 40th anniversary, the film transitions from village streets to cityscapes in the blink of an eye using 3D animation with a timelapse effect to express the passage of time.

In a first for Taiwan, the film’s various eras were filmed entirely in a Virtual Studio in collaboration with Moonshine XR Studio using the latest 3D modelling and mapping technology. The film even uses AI to faithfully recreate McDonald’s most iconic packaging designs of yesteryear, which exist today only in people’s memories.  

Speaking on this innovation, Hsiao Ya-chuan, the film’s director, mentioned, “Simple Happiness is a leap forward for Taiwanese filmmaking. We created five distinct settings using 3D modelling and huge LED screens. Simulating natural sunlight was one of many hurdles, but after months of extensive planning and testing, our story was freed from the constraints of physical locations, giving us greater control, flexibility and creativity.”

With Jolin Tsai’s new song featured in the video, she also commented, “It has been over 20 years since I first collaborated with McDonald’s, and I’m truly honoured to be part of this 40th anniversary celebration. The narrative masterfully intertwines the journeys of growing up in various eras, and the courage that McDonald’s can instil along the way.”

Talking about the campaign, Brenda Kou, CMO, Asia business unit, McDonald’s, said, “To commemorate McDonald’s 40th anniversary in Taiwan, we loved the idea of creating a ‘happiness time machine’ campaign that revisits memorable moments of simple happiness over the past 40 years. By embracing the latest virtual production technologies, it also looks to the future, positioning McDonald’s Taiwan as an icon of food, tech and transformation.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Yang, CEO and CCO at Leo Burnett Taiwan, also added, “McDonald’s holds a special place in the hearts of Taiwanese people. When it first opened in 1984, it brought new cultural influences and immediately became a place where shared memories are created, like a good friend we’ve all grown up with. After many years of adapting global propositions to local culture, McDonald’s Taiwan is a loved and essential brand among many Taiwanese people.”

Mumbai, India – McDonald’s India (West and South), owned and operated by Westlife Foodworld Ltd., has launched its first-of-its-kind ‘EatQual 2.0’ initiative that makes McDelivery more inclusive with a new colour-blind-friendly ordering platform.

The campaign initiative aims to make food ordering more enjoyable and easy for colorblind consumers in India.

In this new initiative, McDonald’s India launched a new feature on its McDelivery app and website that uses a special algorithm to display the menu in colours that are appropriate for the user. The new feature will help colour-blind people see the real colours of the food and drinks, helping them make more informed decisions about what they want to order.

The newly updated feature can be accessed by users when they update the McDelivery app and website. Individuals who are colour blind can select from three colour enhancement options: ‘green-red’,‘red-green’, and ‘blue-yellow’

Also included in the campaign is the release of a heartwarming brand film that will give the viewers a perspective on colorblindness and explain how this feature on McDelivery will help consumers with colorblindness improve their experience of viewing their food on the McDelivery app and website before placing an order.

To ensure a wider reach of the campaign, McDonald’s India has partnered with stand-up comedian and influencer Kenny Sebastian, who also has colorblindness. They also tapped advertising company DDB Mudra, who has been present since EatQual’s inception, to strengthen this global purpose platform around inclusion.

The fast food chain’s new campaign is rooted in the idea that there are a huge number of people in India who are actually colorblind but go unnoticed. This campaign is an extension of their EatQual initiative in 2020, which aims to improve accessibility and inclusivity for people with various disabilities.

The brand launched the initiative on World Sight Day, raising awareness about the campaign through a panel discussion featuring renowned ophthalmologist Dr. Hemalini Samant, Mr. Aniruddh Kothari, a photographer who is also colorblind, and Mr. Arvind R.P., Chief Marketing Officer, McDonald’s India (W&S).

Speaking on the campaign, Arvind R.P., chief marketing officer at McDonald’s India (W&S), said, “We at McDonald’s are on a mission to make delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone, and we literally mean ‘everyone’. Born from this mission, our EatQual campaign underscores our commitment to breaking down barriers, ensuring that every customer is able to access the brand easily, feels welcome, and has a great experience every time they choose to eat with us.”

“Recognising that we ‘eat with our eyes first’ and acknowledging that colorblindness is a widespread reality, we took the initiative to make our McDelivery app and website more accessible. We hope those with colorblindness will enjoy using this new feature to see the crave-able visuals of their favourite iconic products before ordering, just like all other consumers,” he added.

Rahul Mathew, chief creative officer at DDB Mudra Group, also shared, “We’ve always believed that EatQual is more than just a campaign; it’s a journey that McDonald’s is on. With every intervention, we hope to enhance the eating experience, making it a little more equal for everyone. That’s why we work closely with the community to help us understand what they might be missing and how we can bridge that gap.”

Meanwhile, on the partnership, Kenny Sebastian said, “I feel really happy to partner with an iconic brand like McDonald’s on this initiative that makes its services more inclusive and easily accessible to colorblind people like me. I am sure the McDelivery experience will now be easier to navigate through. I look forward to using the feature to view delicious food images on the app before making my pick”.

Indonesia – McDonald’s Indonesia has revealed its new J-Pop advertisement jingle titled ‘Nihon No Fureeba’ written fully in Japanese, to promote the relaunch of McDonald’s ‘Taste of Japan’ burgers.

‘Nihon No Fureeba’ is a full, untranslated Japanese pop song made to promote the comeback of McDonald’s Taste of Japan burgers in Indonesia. The song’s lyrics talk about crispy nori and yakiniku sauce, ingredients highlighted on the fast food chain’s Japanese flavoured-inspired burgers. 

Written in a completely different language, the message the advertisement jingle aims to highlight is that even though some might not understand McDonald’s onigiri-looking burgers, they’ll love the taste anyway. Just  like they love Japanese songs. 

Advertising agency Leo Burnett’s cultural findings on Indonesians’ adoration for Japanese pop songs propelled the idea of creating the jingle. The agency tapped Indonesian-Japanese singer Ica Zahra to create the song, which was released as a Japanese single without subtitles.

Within one week, the music video was watched more than three million times. The song became the talk of the radio, and hundreds of covers and TikTok dances were made. 

Soon after, the agency and the singer revealed that the song, which most people didn’t understand but still listened to, was actually an untranslated ad to promote McDonald’s product relaunch. The jingle has topped the country’s music charts and become the #1 search on music search application Shazam causing a huge jump on the burger’s first-week sales. 

With the launch of ‘Nihon No Fureeba’, people’s curiosity towards the burgers spiked so fast that first-week sales surpassed those of the past 3 years. 

“Because no one knew that it was an ad. The lyrics were in Japanese, untranslated, and  people thought that it was just a nice feel-good J-Pop song!” explains Ravi Shanker, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Indonesia on how an ad became a popular favorite pop song in the country. 

“Japanese pop culture is strong in Indonesia. People love Japanese pop songs and put  them in their playlists, sing along, even wearing cool t-shirts with Japanese letters—all  without understanding what they mean,” he continued. 

Meanwhile, Michael Hartono, marketing director at McDonald’s Indonesia, said, “At the end of the  day, the campaign is making people love not only the burgers but also the brand. Even after people realized that it was an ad, they still continue doing karaoke with it, and  the song–I mean the jingle–is now in thousands of Spotify playlists to this day.” 

Manila, Philippines – As a predominantly Catholic country, most brands based in the Philippines still shy away from talking about gender inclusivity, fearing backlash from the conservative audience. With a growing LGBTQIA+ community in the country, how can brands use ads to fight alongside with these communities for inclusivity and equality?

This was the latest ad from global fast-food chain McDonald’s in the country, who recently launched a full-on campaign in celebration of Pride Month. The ad, conceptualised by TBWA\ Santiago Mangada Puno (TBWA\SMP), is a feel-good spot showcasing the brand’s commitment to promote gender equality in society.

The ad features a sweet story between a skater girl repeatedly passing thru a McDonald’s drive-through window: just to see her crush who works at the McDonald’s branch. Moreover, the ad–which has seen organic virality over the past few days–caught the attention of the masses as it featured an inclusive story between two women.

When asked about the creation of the ad, Adi Hernandez, corporate relations director at McDonald’s, shares, “Despite its rare representation locally, it was more important for us that who we are as a brand, which is a brand that welcomes all, is reflected in the stories that we share just like this one. Our commitment to diversity and gender inclusivity is an overall brand experience that we aim to improve from our employees and to our customers.”

Hernandez also added that the casting for the actors in the ad were made alongside TBWA\SMP to feature true members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“No matter who you are, you are welcome and safe to come back here again and again – that’s what we wanted our audience to know. Which is why this is a part of a broader initiative of McDonald’s Philippines to show our commitment to ensuring we continue to be everyone’s happy place,” he added.