Ad of the Day: McDonald’s wipes smile from Happy Meal boxes in mental health drive
The move is part of a wider campaign to encourage families to talk about mental health openly. This important message has landed it our top spot today.
For the first time, McDonald’s has removed the iconic smiles from its Happy Meal boxes. The move, titled ‘The Meal,’ marks Mental Health Awareness Week and encourages families to have important conversations with each other about varying emotions.
What this ad from Ready10 does brilliantly is put kids at the heart of this topic and show just how crucial it is to chat with younger people about how they are feeling. To remain sensitive to the topic, the fast-food chain partnered with BBC’s Children in Need for the project. This has resulted in a dedicated online hub that will host resources to encourage candid conversations on emotional well-being with children.
All the children featured in the ad express themselves openly, which is a real breath of fresh air. The recognizable voice of football legend Rio Ferdinand also provides familiarity to the spot.
According to the brand performance platform Kantar Marketplace, this ad is very impactful and viewers will likely remember it log after it finishes. Negatively though, Kantar estimates that this will do little to increase sales for the fast food chain.
Credits
Head of consumer comms and partnerships: Louise Page
Communities and partnerships manager: Melodie Richards
Consumer PR manager: Charlie Madsen-Pilcher
Comms agency: Ready10
Managing director: David Fraser
Managing partner: Kate Addy
Campaign lead: Tom Stroud
Director: Laura Coleman
Senior creative strategist: Dana Hanna
Social and digital account director: Nader Ghahreman
Account director: Francesca Martin
Account manager: Immy Omole
Account executives: Sophie Donne, Chloe Phillips
Designer: Aman Malhi
Creative agency: Leo Burnett
Chief creative officer: Mark Elwood
Executive creative directors: Andrew Long, James Millers
Senior creatives: Helen Rogerson, Owen Hunter Jenkins
Creative director: Hayley Power
Creative director of design: David Allen
Designers: Danny Flint, Charlie Crosthwaite
Motion design director: Carmen Perez
Motion designer: Milan Mezi
Project director: Siobhan Mulcahy
Agency TV producer: Georgia Morris
Deputy chief strategy officer: Tom Sussman
Planner: Hamish Cameron
Business lead: Steph Bates
Account director: Charlotte Crawley
Senior account manager: Sian Davidson
Account manager: Brittony Kelly
Production company: Rogue Films
Producer: Fred Bonham-Carter
Director: Jake Mavity
Editor: Flaura Atkinson
Post-production company: Stich Editing (offline), Black Kite (online and animation)
Audio post-production company: Sine Audio
Child psychologist: Dr Maryhan
Media agency: OMD UK
CRM: Armadillo