McDonald’s kicked off Summer 2023 in Australia with a comic campaign called ‘Macca’s Road Trip Rules’ which leveraged the brand’s AFL partnership and featured a pair of footie stars – Melbourne Demons Christian ‘Trac’ Petracca and Western Bulldogs Bailey ‘Baz’ Smith.
McDonald’s, known in Australia affectionately as simply Macca’s, has a long-running partnership with the AFL and this integrated campaign leverages a tie-up that stretches back to 2014.
Created in harness with sport and entertainment agency Gemba, the campaign is spearheaded by a hero film and a set of four 15-second spots supported by OOH, retail and digital. It also includes a viewer call-to-action asking Aussies to send in their own ‘road trip rules’ in return for in-restaurant offers, rewards and vouchers and a chance to win $1000 to spend on their own personal summer adventure.
The lead films starts with the AFL duo climbing in to a classic Kombi van as they set out on a summer road trip. It features good natured banter as the pair argue about the road trip rules: from who can call shotgun, to who controls the music and who pays for the petrol. One thing they both agree on is that a stop at Macca’s is a must.
McDonald's Summer Road Trip Rules from The Gemba Group on Vimeo.
“Macca’s were after an idea that leveraged their partnership with AFL and planted a flag in Australian summer culture,” outlined Gemba Creative Director John Weir. “Of all the summer rituals that Aussies take part in, hitting the highway for a holiday is right up there. Research told us Aussies were almost unanimous in agreeing that every road trip requires at least one Macca’s stop along the way.”
McDonald’s Victoria state Marketing Manager Melissa Rogers added: “A big part of our brief was to show how Macca’s brings friends together over summer, and these spots do a wonderful job at that. The rapport captured between Christian and Bailey is real, and we love how the campaign encourages people to weigh in on the conversation – what ‘road trip rules’ do you think are the most important? We anticipate some lively debate.”
The campaign was created for McDonald’s Marketing Manager Melissa Rogers and Marketing Consultant Amy Phillips by a group at agency Gemba which included Executive Creative Director Boyd Hicklin, Executive Producer Alexandra Longbottom, Creative Directors John Weir and Nick Snelling, Senior Account Director Zoé Hartas, Account Manager Conor Gilchrist, Producer Luke Coulson, Production Assistant Ally Kirkwood, Graphic Designer Julia Mancuso, Director/Scriptwriter Nick Snelling and Director of Photography David Guest with stills photography by Chris Hillary.
Post-production was run through Mr Fox with editor, colour and online from Drew Moden, sound design by Matt Perrott of Mighty Sound Studios, music by Stevic Mackay and voice-over artists Andrew Hazzard, Claire Lovering and Nick Snelling.
Comment
In 2022 this long running fast food brand / AFL alliance was extended by another decade and, in recent years, the tie-up has been promoted through an integrated series of season-long marketing initiatives – including previous campaigns featuring player ambassador Petracca and Smith.
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