While most brands portray athletes as untouchable heroes ahead of major sporting events, McDonald’s has decided to take a different approach. In the campaign created by Wieden+Kennedy New York, legends such as Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Son Heung-min, Lamine Yamal, Christian Pulisic, Santiago Giménez, and Alphonso Davies appear as ordinary restaurant guests.
Instead of stadiums, floodlights, and goals, the commercial takes place at McDonald’s tables. The football stars spend time with characters such as Grimace and Hamburglar, order their favourite meals, and behave like fans eagerly awaiting the start of the tournament.
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The campaign represents the largest activation McDonald’s has ever launched in terms of market reach. The programme will be present in more than 100 countries worldwide, with the company building on the fact that it has been a partner of the FIFA World Cup since 1994.
At the centre of the activation are collectible cups inspired by the iconic Dream Team cups the brand launched in the 1990s. The visuals were created by artist collective ILOVEDUST, and each cup is dedicated to a football legend or a character from the world of McDonald’s.
The communication extends beyond the restaurants. The campaign spans television, social media, streaming platforms, and experiential activations. Among them is the ability to create personalised match-watching playlists via Spotify, with Grimace serving as the project’s unofficial host.
For McDonald’s, this year’s focus is not on bringing itself closer to football, but on bringing the atmosphere of the World Cup closer to people. Rather than fitting into existing sports marketing conventions, the brand is trying to show that one of the world’s biggest sporting events can also be experienced at the table of the world’s most famous fast-food chain.
