McDonald’s adult happy meals used nostalgia to draw buzz and lift sales

Plenty of brands are using social media to fuel campaigns and product ideas. But few have done it better than McDonald’s and Wieden+Kennedy. See all of Ad Age's 2023 Creativity Award winners here The fast feeder and agency seized on the reaction to a seemingly run-of-the-mill McDonald’s tweet in late 2020 to spark one of the most successful fast-food campaigns of 2022. The tweet—“One day you ordered a Happy Meal for the last time and you didn’t even know it”—revealed a desire among adults to reconnect with the feeling of ordering Happy Meals as children. That sentiment birthed the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box, limited-edition food and merchandise boxes created in partnership with the buzzy streetwear brand that the fast-food giant has positioned like a Happy Meal for adults. Read more: McDonald’s Cactus Plant Flea Market Box Is a Big Hit—Behind the Strategy Figurines of McDonaldland characters shown with Cactus Plant’s four-eyed style quickly became collector’s items, as demand for the meals helped fuel fourth-quarter sales for the chain. The effort edged out Google Pixel x The New York Times “Picture Progress,” which Creativity Awards jurors also gave high marks. “Both changed the game,” said one. But “that hurdle for McDonald’s was super high,” added another. “How do you reinvent this old thing and do it in a way that is compelling? It lit up social media and sold out product.” See all the 2023 Ad Age Creativity Awards winners.

McDonald’s adult happy meals used nostalgia to draw buzz and lift sales

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