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Leo Burnett help McDonald's UK celebrate “What matters” in a new ad

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To coincide with it's 40th anniversary, McDonald's UK is striving to move away from the traditional light hearted ads the fast-food brand is known for, instead focusing on the company's charitable contributions with their new campaign. The campaign made its debut last Friday night (the 25th of July) on ITV during Coronation Street. The new ad, created by Leo Burnett, written by Jon Fox and directed by Joshua Neale, is entitled “Dad's voice,” and focuses on the Ronald McDonald House Charities, an initiative funded by McDonald's through donations received from the boxes underneath its tills, which ensures sick children are kept close to their families by providing accommodation near hospitals for parents. In this case, we see the world through the eyes of a sick child who is comforted by her father's voice in hospital.

The new ad, created by Leo Burnett, is entitled “Dad's voice,” and focuses on the Ronald McDonald House Charities

The ad is just the tip of the iceberg, with print, digital, PR and social media all set to form part of the campaign. Moving away from the bright, jovial McDonald's ads of yore is a concerted effort on the brand's part to make consumers aware of the positive initiatives they have in place. Besides the Ronald McDonald House Charities, McDonald's UK has also given out free children's books and fruit in Happy Meals, and have started sourcing all of their ingredients from British farmers. It's a revamped approach that collates all creative advertising under the “Here's to what matters” strap-line, a sentiment with incredibly diverse creative potential.

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A typical RMHC box, as seen at many McDonald's restaurants throughout the world

Alistair Macrow, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at McDonald's UK, believes that the campaign “Marks a significant step change,” not necessarily in what they do, but in how they talk about what they do. He says he feels their customers rarely think about why they do thinks like “Giving out children’s books in Happy Meals or sourcing ingredients from British and Irish farmers,” and that the new campaign aims to rectify that. He says the idea is to “Bring together all these individual actions into a joined-up campaign to help people understand the bigger picture; what McDonald’s is all about and the difference that (they) make to people’s lives.”

The ad is just the tip of the iceberg, with print, digital, PR and social media all set to form part of the campaign

Macrow also underlines the brand's multi-channel approach, which he feels is key in helping them share their stories. He says that with Leo Burnett's “Fresh and exciting creative and purposeful, unifying theme,” they hope to “Surprise and reassure the people who matter most” to them. So whether you're a customer, employee or farmer, McDonald's seems to want you to know that it cares.

Official Ronald McDonald House Charities Website

Official Leo Burnett Website

Official Mcdonald's Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK who has 4 McDonald's restaurants within a 1 mile radius of his home. It's a daily struggle.

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