Leo Burnett London and McDonald’s Launch ‘Just Like McDonald’s’ in Renewed Food Quality Push

McDonald’s and Leo Burnett London have launched an integrated campaign entitled ‘Just Like McDonald’s’, which seeks to distance the brand from its fast food counterparts by comparing the quality of ingredients you’d find in high-end restaurants and supermarkets with those at McDonald’s.

The campaign consists of two 40” films that playfully pose the question: how can you be sure that the ingredients you buy elsewhere are of the same high quality as McDonald’s?

Simple, easy-to-follow guides then help people to spot the signs of an establishment they can trust to serve high quality ingredients, just like McDonald’s. In one of the films a man gets transported into an expensive supermarket with ‘17 different types of granola’ whilst walking around with a ‘wicker basket’.

The other spot shows a women about to take a bite out of a burger before getting interrupted by the narrator asking her how can she be sure that other restaurants sell 100% British and Irish beef. She suddenly gets transported to a fancy restaurant where she experiences an ‘overly-attentive waiter’ and when she sees the bill is made to ‘feel like a contestant on a hidden camera show’ because it’s so eye-wateringly expensive. 

This represents a more confident approach for the brand, that has previously sought to defend the quality of their food and bust the various myths that surrounded its ingredients. The integrated campaign runs across a number of different touchpoints and highlights the quality of ingredients that McDonald’s use, like the 100% British and Irish beef in their burgers or free range eggs in their breakfasts.

The campaign comprises of OOH in close proximity to retail stores to target consumers on their way to supermarkets, social posts that poke fun of foodie influencers and contextual YouTube bumpers that are served before recipe videos.

To support the campaign through PR and social, McDonald’s will open the doors to its supply chain and champion their high quality ingredients by encouraging influencers and journalists to create their own versions of their iconic menu items.

Ben Fox, Director Brand, Experience & Media at McDonald’s said “At McDonald’s we are rightly proud of the quality ingredients used across our menu. We have invested in telling our food provenance story for a number of years and earned the right to grow more confident in our approach over time. Customers gave us permission & challenged us to be bolder still. We’re delighted with the campaign – it delivers a boring trust message, in a fun, memorable way and represents another confident step forward for the brand. We’re excited to see where the platform can take us.”

Graham Lakeland, Creative Director at Leo Burnett London said: “It’s surprising to learn that many of the quality ingredients McDonald’s use are the same as you’ll find in more ‘upmarket’ restaurants and supermarkets. We felt it was about time to let people know, setting the story straight and hopefully putting smiles on their faces.”

Source: Leo Burnett London

  Advertising, Campaign, Food, Just Like McDonald’s, Leo Burnett London, Marketing, McDonalds, Publicis Communications, Quality