Santa makes a detour at McDonald’s in fast food chain’s festive ad

McDonald’s is bringing back its ‘Reindeer Ready’ campaign for the second year as it looks to remind customers of its role during the festive period.

McDonald’s is back with a Christmas ad for the third year in a row as it looks to remind consumers of its role over the festive season.

The campaign, which launches on Sunday (18 November), shows Father Christmas and his reindeer visiting house after house on Christmas Eve dropping off presents for the children. However, while Santa Claus is able to keep himself going with a steady supply of mince pies, his reindeers don’t have any treats to sustain themselves.

Just when they are running out of energy, Father Christmas make a stop at McDonald’s, picking up a bag of ‘Reindeer Treats’ (otherwise known as a bag of carrots).

The advert, created by Leo Burnett London, aims to build on the success of last year’s campaign by bringing back the #ReindeerReady campaign. The reindeer treats will be on sale in McDonald’s over the festive season, while the fast food chain is planning a series of giveaways, festive menu items and digital experiences to further engage customers.

For example, a website, reindeerready.co.uk, will offer the chance to win festive merchandise such as Christmas jumpers and download an animated e-book.

Ben Fox, marketing director at McDonald’s, says: “Our new Reindeer Ready campaign aims to remind customers that we are there when they need us at this time of year – from a Christmas shopping coffee break to a pre-party burger or even a mid-present delivery carrot stop. From TV to outdoor, social to in-store, we will make sure there is a little reindeer magic for everyone this Christmas.”

McDonald’s is launching a number of firsts on the media front. The 90-second campaign will premier across ITV, Channel 4 and Sky as part of a broadcaster-integrated partnership. This will be followed up by 60-, 30- and 20-second versions.

The brand is also creating a Snapchat filter that will allow users to transform their face into a reindeer and try to catch falling carrots as part of a game. This will only be available in McDonald’s restaurants.

The main campaign will be supported by promotional food and drink activity to promote the launch of products such as the Chicken Big Tasty and Millionaire’s Latte.

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