Seriously ill children get to meet both old and new friends in a Ronald McDonald House on Roblox – designed by the children themselves.

Approximately 4,000 families with seriously ill children stay at one of Sweden’s five Ronald McDonald Houses each year. The houses provide the families with a homelike environment while the children have close access to the care that they need. Studies show that staying at a Ronald McDonald House, and having family nearby during treatment, has a positive impact on the children’s recovery. Medical staff also state that a better and speedier recovery allows for tougher treatments. In some cases, the children need specialist care in hospitals that are far away from their actual homes, which makes it difficult for the children to keep in touch with their friends, something which could also have a positive impact on the children’s well-being.

To facilitate this, NORD DDB and McDonald’s Sweden have joined forces with the British game design company Karta to build a new Ronald McDonald House for the Ronald McDonald House Charities on the gaming platform Roblox. The digital house enables the children to keep in touch with their friends at home but also meet new ones as the game connects all the Ronald McDonald Houses in Sweden.

– The Ronald McDonald Houses allow seriously ill children to be near both the care they need and their families, but they are often far away from their homes and thus their friends. Therefore, it feels great that there now is a Ronald McDonald House on Roblox where the children can invite their friends from home and also make new friends, says Lisa Palm Danielsson, Secretary General at Ronald McDonald House Charities Sweden.

The children were encouraged to dream freely when they helped design the new house on Roblox, and it was only their own imagination that could pose limits to what the house would look like. Several of the children wanted a pool, meanwhile others wished they could go tobogganing. As a result, there are always four seasons going on at the same time inside the game. The digital house will only be available to children who have stayed in a Ronald McDonald House in Sweden, but the children can then extend invitations to their own friends.

– It feels very exciting that we have built the world’s first Ronald McDonald House in the metaverse! We are happy to be able to contribute with something we know that the children will appreciate – a house of their own for them and their friends. It is fantastic to be able to work closely with the Ronald McDonald House Charities as their work means so much to many families going through a difficult time in their lives, says Staffan Ekstam, Marketing Director at McDonald’s Sweden.

The idea was developed by NORD DDB and the house on Roblox was created together with Karta. The campaign will be communicated via film, print, DOOH, radio and social media.

– I am so happy that we at Karta have been able to take part in this fantastic journey. It has been so much fun to experience the children’s creative thoughts and to realize their ideas and dreams. This project is very special to me as my second son was born with a heart defect and we spent a large part of his first time at the Ronald McDonald House in London. For me, the stay there was extremely important, I received great support from other parents and from the staff, says Tony Barnes, COO and co-founder at Karta.

Roblox is one of the world’s most popular gaming platforms with approximately 59 million daily users. The users are encouraged to create their own worlds on the platform, and they are also allowed to explore the worlds of other users.

Advertising agency: NORD DDB
Game design: Karta
Director: Farzad Farzaneh
Production company: Giants & Toys PR agency: PRIME WEBER SHANDWICK Media agency: OMD

Source: NORD DDB

  Farzad Farzaneh, Karta, Lisa Palm Danielsson, McDonald's Sweden, Nord DDB, Staffan Ekstam, Tony Barnes