Maybe it’s not going to win a Black Pencil at D&AD. I hope you appreciate how clever it is anyway. Sure, you think it’s about a little boy who wants to be a grown up except when there’s a Happy Meal on offer…you think that for a moment.

Then you realise that’s just the plot. The ad is about changing how Mum feels about the Happy Meal option. McDonalds is never going to win Mum as a prize in the nutrition battle. But it can win her heart. It just has to see her child the way she does. And her life the way it is.

Mum rescues son all day from the consequences of things whose endpoint cannot be good. Mum is an always busy, ever nurturing mum. Mum and McDonald’s share the heart tug of the child trying to be a man.

Child considers his Happy Meal better than the thing that has consumed him with desire all day. McDonald’s rewards child, which rewards Mum.

And child takes Mum’s hand. Sure, that shows the child is happy to be a kid now. It’s also a child’s way of saying, “Thank you, I love you mum.”

When McDonald’s understands mum’s needs like that, a Happy Meal becomes useful food, not fast food. And that’s why Leo Burnett Chicago’s ad is so clever.

By the way, the spot made for Chicago and north-west Indiana gives a nod to the Chicago scene by featuring a musical track performed by Chicago blues legend Eddy “The Chief” Clearwater and celebrated harmonica player, Billy Branch.

Credits: 

Advertising agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago, USA

Chief creative officer: Susan Credle

Creative directors: Jeff Candido, Brian Shembeda

Copywriters: Jono Paull, Avery Gross

Art directors: Rene Delgado, Brian Shembeda

Producer: Ross Greenblat

Director: Bruce St. Clair

Production company: Hello & Co.

Post production: Utopic

Editor: Kat Pryor

Music: Comma Music

Strategy: Steve Cotten, Amanda Mason