How Leo Burnett and McDonald's achieved five billion impressions in a single day

In June, McDonald's and Leo Burnett jointly unveiled a campaign for Children's Day which falls on June 1 in China. The campaign, 'A piece of McNugget, an extra more happiness’, allowed fans to redeem an additional free piece of chicken McNugget by writing a note to ‘the Knight of McNuggets’, a virtual character fully imagined by fans on social media. With every online order, fans can write a special message to the Knight which entitled them to an extra nugget. The fast-food brand also launched and sold out a limited-edition walkie-talkie and joined forces with the UK illustrator and artist Mr Doodle on the campaign. As a result, the campaign went viral and managed to capture some five billion impressions within the first day of the launch without a large media budget.

 Jude Chan, managing director of Leo Burnett China, the creative agency for McDonald's, shared that the inspiration for the McDonald's campaign stemmed from a Tweet in 2020: "One day you ordered a Happy Meal for the last time, and you didn't even know it."

Chan noted, "When we came across this tweet during our research, it deeply resonated with us. It feels as though the cherished moments of our childhood have slipped away without warning."

When the team crafted the campaign, their goal was to challenge the stereotypes typically associated with Children's Day campaigns and to capture a wider audience. They believed that McDonald's signature foods, including the Happy Meal and McNuggets, held a special significance beyond mere food in the hearts of Chinese fans. "They symbolise our childhood. It's hard to determine whether chicken McNuggets are meant for adults or children," explained Chan. Hence, the Children's Day campaign presents them as "kidult food that brings joy to everyone".

Sharon Shen, head of the family and festival business unit at McDonald's China, emphasised the impact of adding a free piece of nugget and leaning into fans' ideas. This led the brand to make a strategic decision to prioritise McNuggets for Children's Day. 

Originally, 'The Knight of McNuggets' sparked a sensation online as consumers and McDonald's fans exchanged tips on how to summon this imaginative figure to receive an extra piece of McNugget by leaving a special note when placing their online orders. As a result of the Children's Day campaign, ‘The Knight of McNuggets’ came into reality and acted as a 'guardian of happiness' for fans.

McDonald's distributed over 600,000 free pieces of McNuggets in China on June 1 as a result of more than 8.4 million customers participating in 'The Knight of McNuggets' campaign. McDonald's China chief growth officer Yabin He referred to this as "strong emotional bonding" between the brand and its consumers. 

In China, McDonald's also launched a Children’s Day special walkie-talkie in collaboration with Mr Doodle. On its debut day, this limited-edition product garnered over five billion impressions, making it a sensation and quickly becoming a sought-after 'social currency'. 

Shen reflected on how to interact with super fans in China with products: "When we were developing this product this year, we didn't focus much on marketing and didn't spend a large budget on this walkie-talkie. It's the product itself that had the potential to stand out because it's based on items like our French fries and McNuggets."

Teaming up with Mr Doodle, McDonald's designed a pair of walkie-talkies that resembled a box of French fries and a box of McNuggets with a box of sauce. Chan elaborated on the IP collaboration driving the campaign: "Beyond generating traffic, we carefully selected IPs to effectively convey the brand's narrative to our audience. While we aim for a fresh approach, the core storytelling still revolves around McDonald's itself."

L-R: Kidult Mini Soft Serve Cone, Walkie Talkie, Dragon Boat by Mr Doodle

He credited the success of the walkie-talkie and the Children's Day campaign primarily to super fans' deep affection for the brand. "These creations are not originally our designs. Our role was to refine them into products that are more engaging and enjoyable for our fans. However, it's the fans who uncover and share the stories behind these products. Their enthusiasm is spontaneous; we can't orchestrate such momentum. Yet, these products are imbued with numerous elements that naturally have the potential to go viral online," he said. 

The McDonald's team had a strong intuition that the campaign would create a viral buzz. The initial group of photos shared on social media were posted by McDonald's store staff themselves. This caught the attention of top KOLs, who began reposting and sharing the content along with various engaging brand stories. 

Later, an increasing amount of user-generated content began to emerge as more consumers shared their experiences with the walkie-talkies. It surprised many to discover that these were real walkie-talkies. McDonald's obtained authorisation to sell the product and reported to the radio authority before putting it on sale. Super fans conducted various tests and enjoyed the fun of spending US$5.4 (38 RMB), communicating with people up to 300 meters away using their walkie-talkies. With only one channel, people in the same office building could purchase a dozen walkie-talkies and communicate from the ground floor to the eighth floor by crosstalking to each other.

Another factor for the success of the campaign is Mr Doodle. Shen played a pivotal role in selecting this artist because she strongly believed in his visuals and imagery. 

McDonald's special subway trains' OOH

Shen and the post-production team worked for 13 consecutive nights to add special effects to three videos and TV commercials. They edited each frame, ensuring that Mr Doodle's paintings seamlessly interacted with the immersive three-dimensional space in the video. Shen said that the brand and creative teams shed tears of joy when the completed videos were delivered.