Invitation to play / The campaign was launched to tie-in with the UK school holiday period and offers daily entertainment to bored students. Beyond this, McDonald’s issues an invitation to play to all its customers with games linked to the workplace and family travel.
McDonald’s achieves this by tapping into the popularity of app-based gaming across all demographics while meeting demand for nostalgic experiences – the ads and the games themselves include a distinct retro vibe.
Brands that optimise this balance of playfulness and nostalgia, while connecting generations in shared experiences, have a big opportunity to thrive.
Mattel demonstrated this with the development of its Barbie movie. Lisa McKnight, EVP and chief brand officer at Mattel, told Contagious that it worked hard to target ‘multiple audiences where you can strike a balance between a tone that’s appropriate for a child with some nuanced jokes that go over the child’s head but that adults appreciate’.
McDonald’s strengthens the appeal of its invitation to play because it threads opportunities to participate throughout the campaign. For instance, out-of-home executions include daily digital placements to prompt fans with timely, contextual detours targeting customers in the moments when they might want to side mission to McDonald’s, each headline bespoke to the placement.
The brand has also created a TikTok mission that encourages customers to co-create an experience, and developed partnerships with gaming influencers to create bespoke McDonald’s games for their audiences.
