Happy Meal Senior
McDonald's
Issue 56 | September 2020
Agency
Nord DDB (Sweden)
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer Andreas Dahlqvist Copywriters Petter Dixelius, Viktor Einarsson Art Directors Joel Ekstrand, Teodor Fjäll
Production Team
Motion Designer Christian Björnerhag Creative Producer Tobias Bergenwall Creative Producer Josefin Kihlman Graphic Designer Edith Sundberg
Other Credits
PR Strategist Kristin Åkerlund Client Directors Jens Welin, Jeanette Ytterman
Date
June 2020
Background
McDonald’s had been an established family restaurant in Sweden since 1979 and Happy Meals have been a children’s favourite since they were first launched in 1986.
The colourful box made McDonald’s synonymous with an experience of surprise, often around a birthday treat or a fun day out with the grandparents.
In the pandemic, however, grandparents could not meet up with their grandchildren as they used to.
Idea
Elderly people are more vulnerable to Covid-19. As a result, they were encouraged to stay isolated in order to stay safe. To bring some joy into the lives of Swedish seniors, McDonald’s let their junior customers create customised Happy Meals for their grandparents. Instead of a toy, the child could place a drawing or a letter in the famous box, which was then delivered at no extra cost.
Our Thoughts
There are a couple of Burger King campaigns in this issue so it seems only fair to give McDonald’s a shout-out, especially since there’s not a lot they’ve done wrong.
BK gets all the headlines for in-your-face creativity but McDonald’s marketing is consistently top quality.
In the UK, they have been giving free coffee to all NHS workers and keeping customers involved by asking them to vote on a new post-Covid menu. And in Sweden they have been spreading the love with this simple reversal, letting the young treat the old.
One fascinating outcome of the pandemic has been a return to comfort food. When restrictions ease fully, I’m sure a lot of burgers will be consumed.