From limited-edition merchandise to legendary packaging and memorabilia, McDonald’s has spent decades creating objects that fans keep, trade and remember. McDonald’s UK and Leo UK have today launched CARDS, a new promotion inspired by that long-standing place in collecting culture. CARDS builds on that heritage by reimagining some of the brand’s most recognisable characters, menu moments and rituals as a new collectible card set.
The campaign was inspired by the universal fan truth that McDonald’s is more than a meal – it’s a memory. The promotion transforms beloved McDonald’s moments into cards that fans can gather into sets to unlock prizes.Two years in development, the UK promotion celebrates the characters, rituals and cultural legacy that have defined McDonald’s for generations. There are 24 card designs across four categories: Characters, Fans, Retro and Legendary, spanning beloved mascots, cult menu items and nods to the brand’s rich archive. Every design has been hand illustrated from scratch. Over months, Leo UK refined character poses, line weight, colour palettes and texture to create a distinctive visual language that feels authentic to collector culture while remaining unmistakably McDonald’s.
The physical production involved extensive stock weight and tactility testing to replicate the feel of premium card collections – from standard editions featuring rich matte finishes to Legendary designs using holographic foil detailing to heighten the sense of rarity. At the centre of the collection is a rare 25th card: a gold Ronald McDonald. Only ten exist nationwide, each worth a £10,000 cash prize, marking the character’s return to the McDonald’s universe for the first time in three decades.
Customers can order a ‘CARDS Meal’ to receive a pack of four cards at no extra cost. Every pack contains guaranteed free food, making this one of the most generous promotions in the brand’s history. Fans will also be able to build a digital collection within the McDonald’s app by entering codes on the back of their cards to unlock additional prizes and explore the original lore behind the McDonald’s icons. To ensure the project resonated authentically within collector culture, the inter-agency group immersed itself in the community throughout development – studying everything from rarity systems to grading mechanics.
CARDS was a cross-agency collaboration: Creative was handled by Leo UK. Media planning and buying was managed by OMD. PR, event and influencer management was handled by Red Consultancy. CRM was handled by TMW, tms created the game play mechanic, card production, prizepool curation and merch production, in-restaurant and POP Communications were handled by Linney.
The campaign was also co-created with leading UK collector creators, Randolph and PokiChloe. McDonald’s has also partnered with Randolph’s grading company, ACE Grading, enabling fans to submit their McDonald’s CARDS to be professionally graded and sealed – bringing the same authentication standards used for premium card collections into the McDonald’s universe.
A selection of cards was previewed at the London Card Show (February 13–15), introducing the collection directly to dedicated fans and positioning McDonald’s within the card collecting community ahead of launch.To build credibility within collector culture, the communications strategy followed a deliberate phased approach designed to engage collecting communities before expanding to a broader national audience. The campaign began with a pre-launch “hype” phase focused on spaces where collectors already gather and share their finds. Early activity centred on creator partnerships and community platforms, supported by nostalgic social content exploring McDonald’s long history of fan collectibles. These posts revisited archive moments such as Speedee, the brand’s first mascot, alongside cult menu items including McPizza and other memorabilia from across the brand’s history, framing CARDS as the latest chapter in McDonald’s longstanding relationship with collecting.
Following that initial phase, the campaign expanded to a full national rollout across AV, OOH, radio, social and in-restaurant activity, including pack-opening creator content, a midnight restaurant event inspired by gaming release culture, a nationwide tour and exclusive crew badge “cards” and t-shirts for employees featuring foil wraps that reveal the cards. A social content series created in partnership with Hypebeast explores the craft behind the card designs, documenting the illustration process and the cultural references that shaped the set.
A 30-second hero film, directed by Stink Films director, Dan French introduces the origin of the game within the McDonald’s universe. The hero film is supported by a collection of 10-second and 6-second cutdowns designed to highlight different elements of the promotion, including qualifying meals, free food rewards, in-app set completion and the ultra-rare Golden Ronald card.
Hannah Pain, marketing director, McDonald’s UK, stated, “McDonald’s has a rich history of collecting and the more we dug into this, the more we found – from Coke glasses to character memorabilia. Fast forward to 2026, and our McDonald’s CARDS promotion is a total celebration of that. We’ve turned memories and iconic features of the brand into something really tangible – 24 unique cards that earn fans free food items, merch and cash.”
Andrew Long, executive creative director, Leo UK, added, “Nostalgia has become real cultural currency, and McDonald’s has always been a part of that story. With McDonald’s CARDS, we wanted to take that nostalgia and give fans something fresh and new in the form of iconic Cards. Bringing the joy of card culture into an accessible format, we’re opening it up to everyone, which feels perfectly suited to a democratic brand like McDonald’s. It’s been a real labour of love for us at Leo UK. We’ve immersed ourselves in card culture and we couldn’t be more excited for the McDonald’s fans to do the same!”
