McDonald’s celebrates Lunar New Year in the metaverse with Opening Ceremony

McDonald’s is partnering with the co-founder of fashion brand Opening Ceremony to celebrate Lunar New Year in the metaverse. The Golden Arches tapped Opening Ceremony Co-founder Humberto Leon to design a collection of zodiac animals for the metaverse event, “McDonald’s Hall of Zodiacs: 2022 Lunar New Year with Humberto Leon.” Fans can visit the virtual colosseum-like gallery to see Leon’s zodiac designs, beginning with the tiger. Users will be able to “walk around” to see each zodiac and click to see the virtues of each sign. They'll also be able to dress their avatar in one of the red hoodies from Opening Ceremony’s Lunar New Year line. TikTok creator Cliff Tan helped design the virtual gallery. RSVP for Ad Age In-Depth: Unlocking the metaverse at AdAge.com/InDepthMetaverse. “McDonald’s is quintessentially American, and to celebrate Lunar New Year with their fans shows what being American means,” said Leon. “Celebrating Lunar New Year is usually something my family and I do intimately and this an exciting time to share that experience in a bigger way.” McDonald’s previously held a smaller metaverse event in December for OfflineTV, a group of eight gamers and content creators with over 2 million YouTube subscribers. This is not McDonald’s first Lunar New Year campaign. Last year, the chain partnered with 88rising, a global Asian artist collective. The “Golden Start” campaign featured an Instagram TV mini-series featuring Dumfoundead, a Korean American hip-hop artist, highlighting Lunar New Year traditions, as well as a virtual concert in the McDonald’s app by Chinese hip-hop artist Masiwei. They also had branded red envelopes for sale on the 88rising website. Red envelopes are traditionally filled with money and given out during the Lunar New Year to symbolize prosperity. McDonald’s will be giving out red envelopes again this year, featuring Leon’s zodiac tiger design, at select locations. McDonald’s customers will get two envelopes to share with friends or family. McDonald’s and Leon also produced a TV spot that features Leon talking about Lunar New Year traditions, while also speaking to his identity as a Chinese-Peruvian American. The spot will air nationwide on Asian news channels in English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. “We’re excited to reach our fans in a meaningful way that captures the essence of the Year of Tiger showcasing bravery, strength and confidence through art, while leveraging a digital experience that meets them in spaces they enjoy,” Elizabeth Campbell, McDonald’s senior director of cultural engagement, said in a statement. “Bringing on Humberto Leon, a trailblazer who uses the world around him to influence his work and others, is what makes this a next-level moment for McDonald’s. We’re honored to celebrate this Lunar New Year through his art expressions and hope our fans will enjoy this very cool and celebratory experience with us.” Fans can visit the virtual experience on AltspaceVR and Spatial platforms or at McDHallofZodiacs.com starting today until February 15.

McDonald’s celebrates Lunar New Year in the metaverse with Opening Ceremony

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