McDonald’s UK is 50. That includes 50 years of kid-thrill birthday parties. So Leo Burnett is giving Macca’s a birthday part of its own and inviting all its fans.
The party vibe begins with a 60-second film, directed by Smuggler’s Fenn O’Meally, that revives a ’80s McDonald’s birthday party in music video style, underlined by classic ‘80s hip-hop track, Know How, by British rapper, Young MC.
To create the film, Leo Burnett and Smuggler recreated an ’80s McDonald’s restaurant in Woolwich London – the site of the first UK location 50 years ago. The set features retro menu boards and kitchen, throwback furniture such as Cheeseburger Stools, Apple Pie Tree and a mural featuring iconic characters such as Hamburglar, Birdie, Mayor McCheese and Grimace.
The campaign encourages the nation to join in the celebrations with bold OOH posters, modernising iconic birthday invites from the past 50 years. Leo Burnett collaborated with the D&AD winning illustrator, Sofie Birkin, to create the five original artworks, each based on a different era of McDonald’s history.
McDonald’s and Leo Burnett have also announced the release of exclusive 50th anniversary merchandise, which will be available later during UK summer, initially on MyMcDonald’s Rewards. The I Had My Birthday Party at McDonald’s collection is based on the famous slogan from the ’80s and patterns, prints and characters from the past. Items include, stripe sweats, bomber jackets, printed denims, birthday t-shirts, scrunchies and even a McDonaldland Rubix cube.
To rekindle customers’ beloved memories, Leo Burnett and McDonald’s have also taken to social media to share tutorials for the hero dancer’s moves, nostalgic ‘fit checks’ of vintage McDonald’s crew uniforms, and announcements around the My McDonald’s Rewards activity on the brand’s owned channels.
The festivities will arrive at McDonald’s restaurants on July 17, supported and led by marketing partner, Linney. These include retro birthday stylings, and an ultimate special-edition party food menu, including a Double Big Mac, a limited-edition Birthday Cake Donut, and what the brand describes as ‘one last big surprise’ in the weeks to come.
Finally, like any good birthday, the fun also includes a party bag. A digital activation, developed by The Marketing Store, within the McDonald’s app invites users to open a digital ‘Party Bag’ to get the Birthday Cake Donut* and even exclusive merch items for the superfans, all designed to evoke the nostalgia of McDonald’s from the past. This will all be supported with CRM developed by CRM agency Armadillo.
Matt Reischauer, marketing director – UK&I, McDonald’s, stated, ” Our campaign celebrating our 50th birthday taps into the countless memories we’ve made with our fans…and of course invites everyone to make new ones. From exclusive merch, to our digital party bag and special-edition menu (the birthday cake doughnut being my favourite) we wanted to make it possible for everyone across the nation to celebrate…with a few surprises along the way. Who doesn’t love a surprise at a birthday party?”
Credits
Client: McDonald’s UK
Chief Marketing Officer: Michelle Graham-Clare
Marketing Director: Matt Reischauer
Design Director: Kat Howcroft
Heads of Marketing: Hannah Pain, Chloe Bissell & Ben Sherburn
Marketing Managers: Emma O’Neill, Jo Conlon, Ana Saffer & Steph Pullen
Brand Managers: Emma Pellegrinelli, Nasia Vassiliou, Ciara Reddington & Annie Ranken
Campaign Assistant: Abi Campbell & Dan Kaye
Marketing Executive: Alice O’Rorke
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett UK
Chief Creative Officer: Mark Elwood
Executive Creative Directors: Andrew Long & James Millers
Creative Director: Ben Hooper
Creatives: Alice Pearce, Clementina De Ruiter, Anna Wilkins, Jed Small & Evan Bryant
Design Directors: Dave Allen & Rupert Knowlden
Designers: Georgia Glen & Ethan Lynton
Motion Designer: Bey Redding-O’brien
Studio Director: Richard Pettiford
Chief Strategy Officer: Tom Sussman
Head Of Planning: Joe Beveridge
Strategy Director: Ben Obadia
Planners: Jen Leung & Imo Gowen
Business Leads: Steph Bates & Tom Molyneux
Account Handling: Alice Pavey, Karolina Dovgialo, Nicola Kuan, Sian Davidson, Brittony Kelly & Harry Anfilogoff
Project Manager: Laura Taylor
Agency Producers: Graeme Light & Alice Konstam
Illustration: Sofie Birkin
Artist: Farah Ikhlas
Creative Agency: TMS
Production Company: Knucklehead
Director: Broken Antenna
Director of Photography: Ahmet Hussseyin
Producer: Tim Katz
Production Company: Smuggler UK
Director: Fenn O’meally
Executive Producer: Lucy Kelly
Producer: Luca Chapman
Director of Photography: Arseni Khachaturan
Choreographer: Holly Blakey
Production Designer: Fiona Crombie
Production Company: Darling Films UK
Director: Scott Grummett
Director of Photography: Tim Green
Producer: Clare Timms
Post Production: Framestore New York
Colourist: Stef Perry
Post Production & VFX: Black Kite
VFX Artist & Colourist: Paul Wilmot
Editorial: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Adam Rudd
Editorial: Pundersons Gardens
Editor: Toby Heard
Editorial: Knucklehead
Editor: Ben Boullier
Sound: 750mph
Sound Engineer: Jake Ashwell
Sound: Sine Audio
Sound Engineers: Phil Bolland & Michele Covio
Music: The Sync Agency
Music Supervisors: Dan Dunbar & Marion Mccormack
Media Agency: OMD
PR: Red Consultancy
