McDonald’s puts Christmas Day ad in the hands of the great British public

McDonald’s launched the ‘Journey to Christmas’ campaign, created by Leo Burnett London, last month. It featured a young family making a long car journey just before Christmas Day, breaking up the trip with a visit to McDonald’s.

It ended with a call to action encouraging people to film themselves while on their own Christmas journeys and submit the video online.

McDonald’s claims the campaign has been a “huge success” with hundreds of entries submitted that all tell the story of the “good times” that can be created on any Christmas journey. Some of the best have made the final ad, which will air during Coronation Street and will also feature James Corden putting his karaoke skills to use singing the classic festive tune.

While not all submissions have made the final TV spot, most of the entries have been available to view on social media and on the brand’s festive hub on its website.

“We set out to do something different with our festive campaign this year and we needed the British public to turn it into something special.”

Steve Hill, head of marketing, McDonald’s UK

“It gives me great delight to confirm that they’ve done just that – our backseat singers really steal the show with this advert and we’ve very proud of how well it has turned out,” adds Hill.

The Christmas campaign is part of a shift in strategy for the festive season as the McDonald’s brand looks to create an emotional connection, not just focus on its products.

Hill told Marketing Week at the time of the campaign launch: “We used to do very low-key festive campaigns that were focused on food and beverage. This year we wanted to highlight the broader emotive role that the brand plays in people’s Christmas journeys. It’s certainly our biggest Christmas campaign yet in terms of investment.

“We’re not anyone’s main destination for Christmas food, but we do play a role in Christmas shopping and especially when people stop off during journeys to see their friends and families. We wanted to celebrate that trend and our customers.”