This film for McDonald’s out of Leo Burnett UK introduces us to a group of office workers who conspire together to head to McDonald’s. The piece begins in a typical office, a heavy folder of papers is slammed onto a desk. With a sigh, two colleagues catch each other’s eye. One of them raises their eyebrows to the other in a knowing way, she understands exactly what that means. They nod in agreement and head off. With smiles on their faces, they walk purposefully through the office: raising their “arches” to their colleagues in a universally understood gesture. It doesn’t take long for the whole office to join in for a lunchtime escape–window cleaners and postman included.
The film was directed by Edgar Wright via Moxie Pictures. Wright’s feature filmography includes Baby Driver, Last Night in Soho and Shaun of the Dead.
The “Fancy a McDonald’s” invitation will be turbo-charged through social media, as McDonald’s call on employees, brand fans and influencers to get involved in the eyebrow-raising action in an activation led by The Red Consultancy. Snapchat and Instagram lenses will also support the campaign: the lens will raise the user’s arches, allowing McDonald’s fans to share and invite their friends to get a McDonald’s.
The campaign then heads in-store, transforming the iconic McDonald’s Golden Arches sky signs at two restaurants into the raised arches version of the logo. The ‘M’ will be cropped and animated, moving in a way that replicates the eyebrow-raise shown in the film.
The activity will be underpinned by a generous digital sales promotion, designed by TMS to drive app downloads and deliver a fortnight of offers and rewards to customers from Blue Monday onwards. Over the next 12 months the campaign will be amplified internationally, with almost 40 markets across the world joining the movement.
Michelle Graham-Clare, SVP, chief marketing officer at McDonald’s U.K. and Ireland, said: “In a challenging time, our Raise Your Arches invitation to McDonald’s provides the nation with a small but much-needed moment to let go and feel good. We hope the campaign raises arches and smiles across the country and I can’t wait to see everyone get involved.”
Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett U.K. and global, said: ”An invitation to McDonald’s is an opportunity to put our responsibilities aside and enjoy a little lift. And we hope Raise Your Arches does exactly that, allowing everyone to momentarily let go of life’s pressures and enjoying a Maccers. We were beyond excited to work with the brilliant Edgar Wright to bring this idea to life–from the visual look and feel he creates to what he does with music and choreography, he’s got that knack of making work that grabs your attention for all the right reasons. We’re always looking at ways to raise a smile and create big populist entertainment for Maccers and in the hands of Edgar, we hope we’ve created something that does both.”
Wright shared, “As soon as I read the script I was like, “Oh, I love this song, I love this premise. This will be a lot of fun.”
CreditsClient McDonald’s Michelle Graham-Clare, SVP, chief marketing officer, U.K. and Ireland; Steve Howells, director of marketing & media. Agency Leo Burnett U.K. Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer; Mark Elwood, executive creative director; James Millers, Andrew Long, creative directors; Gareth Butters, sr. creative, copywriter; Joe Miller, art director; David Allen, creative director of design; Jakk Breedon, designer; Graeme Light, head of McDonald’s TV production. Media Agency OMD Production Moxie Pictures Edgar Wright, director. Editorial Final Cut David Webb, editor; Doochy Moult, producer. Postproduction Framestore Darren Nicholson, Flame, Alexis Paterson, producer; Stef Perry, colorist. Audio Post 750mph Sam Ashwell, mixer. Photography & Motion Production Prodigious Jo Hodge, head of art production; Tom Van Schelven, photographer.
The Best Work You May Never See: C3P, No Fixed Address Show Us There Are No “Safe Spaces” In Canada When Kids Are Online
Creative agency No Fixed Address has partnered with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) to raise awareness about the alarming increase in online child sexual exploitation in Canada. The “Safe Spaces” campaign alerts parents to the fact that nowhere is currently safe for a Canadian child--not their school, not their playground, not even their own bedroom--as soon as they’re online.
This “Safe Spaces” public service film--directed by Amélie Hardy via production company Carton Rouge--features the mothers of six victims of online sexual exploitation, telling their kid’s stories from the same places they assumed their child would be safe. These courageous moms have not only suffered the nightmare of what happened to their children, they’ve suffered under the assumption by many Canadians that it is somehow their fault for not keeping their children safe. This is the preconception the “Safe Spaces” campaign seeks to change. This can happen to anyone. Predators are everywhere online. And they’re targeting everyone. The campaign is urging Canadians to support the federal government’s Online Harms Bill, which would require social media companies to provide meaningful protection to children online.
“These courageous moms chose to share their heartbreaking stories to help Canadians understand why we desperately need legislation to protect our children from dangerous spaces online, just like we do offline,” said Lianna McDonald, executive director of C3P. “This is why we need safety regulations for the platforms kids use every day, as proposed in the Online Harms Bill.”
Alexis Bronstorph, chief creative officer at No Fixed Address, said, “We were blown away by the courage of these moms for sharing their stories.... Read More