McDonald’s is highlighting the moment of indecision that strikes many of its customers as they’re about to make an order in a new commercial airing in its customary ad slot just minutes before the Super Bowl kickoff.
An array of McDonald’s customers—including Kanye West, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, Twitch streamer Edwin Castro and vintage mascot Grimace—are shown hesitating before deciding what to order.
The 30-second spot, called “Can I get uhhhhhhhh,” comes from creative agency Wieden+Kennedy NY as well as Alma, OMD, The Narrative Group and The Specialized Marketing Group Inc. It follows a series of spots built around customers who have go-to orders. All of the ads are what the brand refers to as "fan truths," or moments when they interact with the chain and its menu.
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The spot opens with a woman in her car at a McDonald’s drive-thru. When asked “May I take your order?” she replies “I’ll have uhhhhhh…”
The commercial then races through similar scenarios showing customers at home, in restaurants and at drive-thrus experiencing the same moment of indecision. These include rapper Kanye West, who is revealed as he throws open the cabin of a massive matte black Russian Sherp SUV, and Wallace, who pulls up to the drive-thru in his race car along with his pit crew. Grimace, the purple monster mascot of McDonald’s classic commercials, waits at a restaurant counter while images of a Big Mac and a Fillet-o-Fish appear in a thought bubble.
Regular customers and in one case, their pets, are also caught in the spot.
The ad ends as the first woman confidently decides on a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets—but is flummoxed again when asked which dipping sauce she’d prefer with it.
McDonald’s has been a frequent advertiser in the slot just before the Super Bowl kickoff. In 2020, it introduced what became known as the “Famous Orders” campaign with a Wieden+Kennedy spot “Famous Trays,” showing the go-to orders of a long list of real and fictional famous diners including Kanye West, Whoopi Goldberg and Magic Johnson and also, Dracula (ketchup packets), Julius Caesar (a Caesar salad) and the Hamburglar. Since then, the chain has created excitement around its menu by focusing on the go-to orders of influential figures including Travis Scott, the Korean boy-band BTS, and rapper Saweetie.
Last year, McDonald’s used the pre-kickoff slot to run “Thank You for Driving Thru,” a Wieden+Kennedy ad thanking customers for utilizing the drive-through as the country dealt with the ramifications of the COVID pandemic.
West, whose "Uhhhhh" in the spot is autotuned like his music, recently launched a clothing line at Gap stores known as YZY.
McDonald’s kept a tight lid on this year’s ad, choosing not to release it publicly until it aired at 6:30 p.m. ET on Super Bowl Sunday. However, the brand is teasing the ad’s theme with outdoor advertising including billboards in Times Square, skywriting Sunday in Los Angeles, where the Rams-Bengals Super Bowl is to be played at SoFi Stadium, and on its social media channels.
