2023 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

The next generation didn’t perceive the Big Mac as the cultural icon that it was. Young Adults (18-24) were eating fewer Big Macs, less often than older generations. They were aware of the Big Mac and many had tried it, but they lacked the type of connection to the Big Mac that made it an icon for older generations. Previous generations saw the Big Mac in the hands of famous athletes and celebrities or brought to life with a timeless jingle (Two all-beef patties, special sauce… C’mon, you know the rest).

The brand needed to reinforce its iconic status in a way that the younger generation could connect with. To reaffirm the Big Mac’s iconicity with Gen Z, the way to their hearts was not just to talk about the burger, but to tap into their passions and popular forms of self-expression.

Gen Z don’t see the world as a collection of fixed categories or siloes; they see it as one giant cultural milieu, to be chopped, screwed, and remixed in pursuit of their self-expression. The Big Mac is the world’s most famous burger. It’s not only famous for its iconic layers of flavour but for its equally famous visual identity including its shape, layered ingredients & distinct colour palette. So, they reframed the Big Mac from a famous burger to a modern icon by repositioning its ingredients - two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and a sesame seed bun - as an equally delicious creative palette to be remixed and reimagined in the eyes their Gen-Z guests.

“Inspired By Big Mac”: The Big Mac campaign, without any Big Macs If your taste is iconic, you shouldn’t have to say it. So the brand launched a campaign to show the endless ways the Big Mac could inspire Gen-Z culture in a way that only the world’s most iconic burger could. They evolved their approach to marketing the Big Mac from a solely food-focused approach about craveability to one about cultural iconicity.

Traditionally, they would have obsessed about the sauce, its size, or sizzling beef. Although ‘taste’ was still central to the idea, they were appealing to their audiences' taste in style, beauty & fashion this time instead. The brand also uncovered the ‘power of suggestion’ that the Big Mac possessed. Their Guests would crave a Big Mac at the sight of anything that resembled a Big Mac! You definitely can’t say that about The Whopper. So, this gave them the confidence to pursue their evolution strategy vs. relying solely on a traditional message about taste.

Transform the iconic Big Mac into a creative palette and put that palette in the hands of the most creative generation out there. This was about reimagining their distinctive brand assets in a way that only an iconic burger could. With the confidence to relinquish creative control of their world-famous burger, they enlisted the help of six creators from the worlds of beauty, fashion, and graphic design.

The brand briefed them to reimagine the Big Mac using their unique creative abilities. The result? Six creations as unique as their muse. From Big Mac-inspired Cowboy boots and a hand-knitted Big Mac dress to a digital avatar and Big Mac-inspired ‘grill’ (jewelry, not BBQ). They turned their channels into a gallery to display this work and further inspire their audience.

Across digital and social media, they showed off their creations and their creators in snackable 6s and 15s videos. In OOH, they acted like a fashion brand, using fashion-style photography of their creations. And, on Pinterest - the internet's favourite source of inspiration - they created a Big Mac-inspired board using the burger’s iconic colourway, in which they included ‘easter eggs’ that could be redeemed for actual Big Macs.

The brand made it into their feeds, conversations and ultimately, into the cultural headlines. Their Big Mac-inspired posts exceeded previous campaign benchmarks for Engagement Rate (ER), Video Completion (VCR), and average watch time (AVT). On FB, IG & Pinterest, they exceeded ER benchmarks by +4.37% and +0.14%, respectively. On TikTok, they exceeded VCR by +277.6% and AVT per video by +35.1%.

Finally, the brand established McDonald’s – and more specifically the Big Mac – as a creative catalyst with the creator community, and an enduring source of delicious inspiration to the next generation, cementing the Big Mac’s evolution from a world-famous burger to a true cultural icon.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Saba Quao
Executive Creative Director: Jason Hill
Managing Director: Bryden McDonald
Creative Director: Justin Luu
Creative Director: Lorne Heller
Senior Strategy Director: Geoff Gingerich
Senior Strategist: Niki Coulson
Business Director: Adam Eliesen
Account Supervisor: Zoe Starkman
Account Executive: Rachel Edelmeier
Producer: Alicia Roberts
Co-Producer: Oyin Olalekan
Print Producer: Susan Goodfellow
Social Media Manager: Zeina Samaha
Social Content Creator: Christine Boachie
Editor: Mike Colangelo
Motion Graphics Designer: Sam Perrin
Design Director: April Tran
Alyssa Buetikofer - Chief Marketing Officer
Rebecca Smart - Marketing Director, Brand Strategy
Andrew Mumford - Senior Manager, National Marketing
Nabiha Advani - National Marketing Supervisor
Fatma Othman - Manager, Social & Brand
KYLA AMES - Associate Director of Strategy
Mikayla Smith - Senior Strategist
Milena D’Agostino - Director, Client Experience
Kelsey De Melo - Senior Associate, Integrated Media
Jesica Mikkila - Senior Manager
Photographer/Director: Saty & Pratha
Executive Producer: Natalie Frenkel
Director of Photography: Ali Khurshid
Camera Assistant: Sammie Sivangsouk
Photo Assistant: Ryan Francoz
Photo Assistant: Dustin Parr
Digital Tech: Eric Brazier
Prop Stylist: Dani Reynolds
Prop Assistant: Sarah Wright
Set Build: Dan Mcechern & Rob Lafnec
Production Assistant: Sabrina Patail
Creative Director & Engineer: Jared Kuemper
Executive Producer: Tyna Maerzke
Russell Hanson - VFX Assistant
Alyssa Schmidt - VFX Assistant
Cheyenne Bloomfield - Executive Producer

Adam Kemp - Colourist

MAKERS
Big Mac Floral Design - Jaime McCuaig
Big Mac Cowboy Boots - Carly Schwind
Big Mac Grills - Terrel Odia
Big Mac Makeup - Ronnie Tremblay
Big Mac Nail Art - Manuela Villegas
Big Mac Dress - Jessica Papp