McDonald’s celebrates moments of togetherness with the launch of ‘The Alternative Christmas List’

McDonald’s celebrates moments of togetherness with the launch of ‘The Alternative Christmas List’
 

McDonald’s is changing the meaning of ‘Christmas lists’ this year as it launches The Alternative Christmas List, a campaign anchored around a mobile experience accessed through the McDonald’s App, led by Leo Burnett UK.

The campaign gives new meaning to the festive symbol of a Christmas list. Instead of being about material objects, McDonald’s Alternative Christmas List is instead made up of a series of experiences each curated to bring families together to enjoy a small but meaningful moments of magic.

At the center of the campaign is the Alternative Christmas List mobile experience. Launching on 14^th November, the Alternative Christmas List invites fans to enjoy six unique experiences, released weekly in the build-up to Christmas. Every experience on The Alternative Christmas List has been created to enhance a shared family moment, and the experiences will include things like McDonald’s festive PJs and Jumpers for the ultimate night in on Christmas Eve, a touring festive photobooth and McDelivery Christmas carollers and a festive audio books for those families driving home for Christmas.

To launch the campaign and raise awareness of the alternative Christmas list, McDonald’s has created a 90-second film directed by Academy® Award winner Tom Hooper, known for critically acclaimed hits like The King’s Speech and Les Miserables.

The film tells the story of a little boy named Alfie, who gets carried away with the excitement of writing a Christmas List, before realizing that it’s the little shared moments that really matter. The film sets up the idea of the importance of family time over the materialistic aspect of Christmas, reminding the UK of what’s important during the festive season.

Opening on Alfie and his mum looking over the balcony of their flat at neighbors riding a red bike, she encourages him to write a Christmas list for Father Christmas. As the boy crafts and builds his list, he becomes more and more carried away with the craft. The list grows and grows: multiplying in length each time we see it. Alfie and his parents are Christmas shopping at their local high street when he asks, ‘How do you send this to Father Christmas?’. The pages begin to take flight, riding a gust of wind into the sky. The boy and his parents chase the list through the town center, but the list flies into the distance. The upset boy is embraced by his parents: mum spots a McDonald’s in the distance and they head in to cheer him up. Mum asks ‘What was on your list anyway?’. Alfie smoothens out a scrunched-up page of the list, which he managed to keep as it flew away: the most important page of them all, it shows a drawing of mum, dad, and son.

The ad, created by Leo Burnett, will launch in cinemas alongside Black Panther’s ‘Wakanda Forever’ and on TV on 13^th November during ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!’. The soundtrack, recorded by Becky Hill, is an enchanting, festive rendition of Yazoo’s iconic track, ‘Only You’.

Credits

CAMPAIGN TITLE: The Alternative Christmas List

CLIENT: McDonald’s UK

ADVERTISING AGENCY:  Leo Burnett UK

CCO: Chaka Sobhani

EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mark Elwood

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: James Millers & Andrew Long

SENIOR CREATIVE: Joe Miller

CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF DESIGN: David Allen

SENIOR DESIGNER: Rupert Knowlden

DESIGNER: Jakk Breedon

HEAD OF PLANNING: Tom Sussman

STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Hamish Cameron

SENIOR STRATEGIST: Roxy Windisch

BUSINESS LEAD: Steph Bates

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Jack Brenman

SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER: Nicola Kuan

ACCOUNT MANAGER: Florence Potter

PROJECT DIRECTOR: Siobhan Mulcahy

TV PRODUCER: Graeme Light

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Smuggler

DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper 

EDITOR: Russell Icke

PRODUCER: Ella Sedgwick

POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Framestore

AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: 750MPH

McDonald’s Brand Team:

Chief Marketing Officer, S.V.P: Michelle Graham-Clare

Director of Marketing & Media Steve Howells

Head of Marketing: Hannah Pain

Head of Consumer Communications & Partnerships: Louise Page

Brand Manager: Amber Myers

Assistant Brand Manager: Emma Pellegrinelli

Campaign Assistant: Callum Seviour

Marketing Placement: Rian Wilson

PR Manager: Melodie Richards

MEDIA AGENCY: OMD 

PR AGENCY:  RED CONSULTANCY

SOCIAL AGENCY: OLIVER

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AGENCY: The Marketing Store

CRM: Armadillo

POP: Linney

Framestore:

VFX: Framestore

VFX Supervisor: Ross Wilkinson

2D Supervisors: Matt Thomas and Ollie Bersey

CG Supervisor: Henrique Campanha

Senior Producer: Alexia Paterson 

VFX Production Coordinator: Poppy Chadwick

Production Assistant: Conor Garnett

Flame: Darran Nicholson and Aadel Matoorianpour

Colourist: Steffan Perry, Company 3