McDonald’s claims a variety of food items across video games
McDonald’s and Leo Burnett are hijacking the gaming multiverse with ‘Unbranded Menu’ – an open-ended challenge for players to hunt down McDonald’s ‘food-like’ and then exchange their inedible discoveries for actual McDonald’s merchandise.
It started when the Philippines’ most popular gaming personality Alodia Gosiengfiao found a Big Mac lookalike inside Grand Theft Auto V and posted a screenshot of it. She then challenged her eight million followers to apply too. With more players and streamers joining in and tagging their discoveries #ThisIsMcDonalds, the hunt is officially on.
“As a brand that lives in culture in the most authentic, playful ways, McDonald’s has brainstormed ways to connect with the Philippines’ 40 million-plus strong gaming community,” said Raoul Panes, Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Groupe Philippines and Leo Burnett Manila.
“Then we stumbled upon an amazing discovery: so much food in the gaming multiverse looks exactly like McDonald’s products, despite not being branded. Why not hack this unbranded space to build brand love for McDonald’s through the player behavior of screen-grabbing milestones and discoveries for posterity or bragging rights?”
To fuel the hunt, McDonald’s food, game credits, consoles and other gaming merchandise are being given away in exchange for screenshots of the food-like tag #ThisIsMcDonalds.
Some of the Philippines’ best players and their legions of fans are already sharing photos of unbranded virtual foods that—despite being logo-free—bear an uncanny resemblance to the iconic French Fries, Big Mac and Quarter Pounder sandwiches, Cheeseburgers, Hash Browns, Sundaes and other McDonald’s classics. These items have been found everywhere from classic video games (The Sims, Resident Evil, Yakuza, Burger Time) to online multiplayer games (Fall Guys, Roblox, PUBG), RPGs (Genshin Impact, Final Fantasy, The Last of Us, Persona) and giant titles (Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, Cyberpunk 207, Guardians of the Galaxy).
“It’s been fascinating to follow this virtual hunt and see players trade virtual food clones for the real deal. Leo Burnett’s idea takes the relationship between players and food, which is a huge part of gaming culture, and helps us connect with a huge gaming audience in the Philippines and beyond,” notes Oliver Rabatan, Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s Philippines.
Credits
Client: McDonald’s Philippines
Margot Torres, Oliver Rabatan, Ashley Santillan, NJ Caballar
Agency: Leo Burnett Group Manila
Advertising: Raoul Panes, Jason Williams, Adriano Matos, Carl Urgino, Rey Tiempo, Brian Lumanog, Chary Chu, Paolo Roa, Sofia Tawasil, Stephanie Tan, Chili Ramon
Accounts: Judy Medina, Earl Dorado, Sabrina Urbano
Social: Jarmaine Sotto, Earl John Diaz, Hans Cabuyao, Gianne Nuguit
PR: Carol Battad, Marco Sandiong, Lorenzo Manguiat, Joaquin Espiritu, Lendl Fabella
