McDonald’s teams with Blippar and Amazon for ‘biggest ever Christmas campaign’
It may be an unlikely festive advertiser, but McDonald’s has launched what it claims is its “biggest ever Christmas celebration” with a campaign it’s running with the help of Amazon and augmented reality app Blippar.
The festive push aims to celebrate the role McDonald’s plays during Christmas, from “rewarding weary shoppers, excited families and as pre- and post- night out fuel for millions of people.”
“December is an incredibly busy time for everyone and millions of customers will visit us in the next month so we wanted to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support and custom by bringing festive good times to thousands of people this Christmas,” said vice president food & marketing, McDonald’s UK, Emily Somers.
The campaign centres on a TV ad – created by Leo Burnett – featuring Juliette, a vintage wooden doll which has been left on a shelf in a toyshop, looking out of a window at a McDonald’s restaurant.
The dolls featured in the ad were 3D printed and the lead character was brought to life through a mixture of puppeteering and computer generated effects (CGI).
The vintage doll continues as a theme throughout the campaign and features in a 20 second ad for McDonald’s Christmas menu as well as on packaging, such as coffee cups.
“I am very proud of our contribution to the competitive Christmas advertising window, and delighted to bring our biggest ever campaign to life with Juliette and her adventure. The advert kick starts an eight week multi-channel Christmas celebration which sees us use AV, out of home, digital and in-store advertising to bring the campaign to life and to deliver good times for our customers and employees this December,” continued Somers.
Off screen, McDonald’s is looking to “give customers a little extra” and has teamed up with Blippar and Amazon for a second wave of activity.
During December, it will hand out £10 Amazon gift certificates through an augmented reality tray mat.
Every tray in store will include an advent calendar. After downloading Blippar, customers hold their phone over the tray mat and each day a door will open, revealing games, avatars and camera filters as well as the chance to win an Amazon card.
“We wanted to create something that could bring an extra bit of festive fun to every single McDonald’s customer and what better way to do that than by celebrating one of the great Christmas traditions – the advent calendar,” said Simon Hewitt, board account director, Leo Burnett.
“So with the help of Blippar’s technology, we have changed every tray mat into an easy to interact with, immersive experience that we hope will create a whole raft of new good times across our restaurants this Christmas," he said.
Working with one of the biggest brands in the UK is a coup for Blippar, which has been trying hard to move beyond its 'gimmick' facade. Encouraging the millions of daily McDonald's visitors to use the app throughout Christmas should help it on its way to achieving the "mass awareness" target it's set for itself in 2017.