Last year, McDonald’s Christmas campaign in the UK was all about families. This year, it’s all about looking for love. And it talks first and foremost to the audience that frequents its restaurants.
The 90 second ad tells the story of a vintage wooden doll that has been overlooked for years by shoppers. She looks out hopefully from her window position at the McDonald’s outlet across the road where people are having fun together.
By Christmas Eve, Juliette is desperate. She escapes and runs across the busy road to enter the McDonald’s.
It’s a McDonald’s ad – you know there is going to be a happy ending. This ad has a surprise happy ending.
Juliette was made from 3D printed parts and given a hand-painted face. She was animated using a combination of puppeteering and CGI. The other dolls in the campaign were also made with the help of 3D printing.
The ad was created by Leo Burnett UK creatives, Philip Meyler and Darren Keff and directed by Gary Freedman and produced by Independent.
Juliette will also appear in a follow-up 20-second ad for McDonald’s Christmas menu, peering through a straw she uses as a telescope.
McDonald’s has also teamed up with Amazon to launch a Christmas promotion in its restaurants. During December, customers will be given an augmented reality tray mat, which can be used with the Blippar smartphone app to display a virtual advent calendar or a Santa sleigh game with instant win opportunities for £10 Amazon gift cards, as well as games, avatars, and camera filters.
