McDonald's Hong Kong remembers its past with toys, throwback ads

To celebrate their latest, most technologically advanced store opening at City Plaza in Hong Kong's Taikoo Shing district, McDonald’s is commemorating its rich history in the city through a four-day campaign that involves recreating McDonald’s adverts from the past, covering television, newspaper, magazine, outdoor, radio and online placements.

The contrast between old and new used in the campaign was designed to inspire shared nostalgia for ‘the good old days’ across the city, with its retro look hailing from the 1990s. “Imagine paging through a glossy magazine and coming across an old McDonald’s ad, or hearing a crackly old radio spot on your favourite station,” said Carol Lam, chief creative officer and managing director of DDB Group Hong Kong. “The magic of our campaign lies in this stark contrast between old and new, creating a stolen moment for customers to reflect on a simpler time.”

The campaign is bringing past McDonald’s adverts out of retirement, starting with the iconic ‘Fish Symphony’ television spot, coincidentally created by Lam back in 1997. When asked what had changed in advertising in the almost two decades since then, Lam cited “time for craftsmanship—at any cost. The aquarium you see in ‘Fish Symphony’ is in New Orleans. We told the client it’s the best setting for the film, so we flew there. Not something that happens often these days”.

The project has also set up an interactive toy museum at City Plaza in collaboration with event agency Amaz, featuring over 1,000 McDonald’s toys dating back to 1980. The museum also offers customers the chance to win souvenirs or the redemption of a classic hamburger set at a classic Hong Kong price of HK$4.80, through a QR code created by DDB Group Hong Kong’s digital arm Tribal.

Tribal have also contributed to the wide scope of the campaign on an intergrated mix of media channels, further extending the nostalgic sentiments and encouraging people to share their own memories of McDonald's across social media.

“McDonald’s is at the heart of many special memories created over a shared meal. We are very fortunate to be able to use this rich heritage as a vehicle to celebrate our latest concept store,” said Esther Chung, director of marketing at McDonald’s Hong Kong. “The retro campaign and Toy Museum give us the chance to honour our history while looking towards our bright future".

CREDITS

Creative Agency: DDB and Tribal Hong Kong
Chief Creative Officer and Managing Director: Carol Lam
Head of Tribal and Head of Digital: Leo Tsui
Head of Strategy: Andreas Krasser
Head of Digital Creative: Marco Lam
Group Creative Director: O Poon
Creative Team: Paul Yu, Ben Ling, Matthew Kwok, Joseph Lam, Buzz Kwok, Benjamin Chan, Isaac Chiu, Iris Law and Emily Kam
Account Servicing: Emmie Tse, Koman Ko, Felix Fong
Project Manager: Ivy Kong
Head of Broadcast: Annie Tong

Producer: Wai Hung Wong, Vincent Wong

Media Agency: OMD Hong Kong
Event Agency: Amaz Company Limited