A clever new campaign by McDonald's underscores how people around the world navigate cities using McDonald’s locations. The out-of-home ads feature a variety of items including a coffee cup, a receipt, Google translate, a napkin, and a flyer that have been transformed into maps to help tourist orientate themselves in unfamiliar places.
The campaign was designed by Leo Burnett Moscow to showcase routes to iconic tourist destinations across five major cities including the Louvre in Paris, France; Ming Palace in Nanjing, China; Westminster Cathedral in London, UK; the Flatiron Building in New York City, USA; and the Duomo in Milan, Italy.
The interesting campaign shows the universalness of the fast-food chain and how it can be used as a landmark across the globe. The navigational campaign helps international customers feel connected to the brand and each other.
What Makes This Trend Stand Out
- Navigational Campaigns
- Other QSR chains can innovate by advertising unique local landmarks or travel routes to stand out to tourists and locals alike.
- Multifunctional Product Integration
- Other brands can expand their reach by integrating their product into innovative purposes; such as using a McDonald's coffee cup as a map like the ad campaign shows.
- Global Branding Strategies
- International brands can use universal imagery to connect different cultures and languages under a unified brand, similar to McDonald's global navigational campaign.
Sectors Adopting This
- Quick Service Restaurants
- QSR chains can capitalize on local landmarks or travel routes to stand out among the competitive fast food industry.
- Advertising and Marketing
- Brands can learn from the innovative product integration of McDonald's new campaign to find new and interesting marketing strategies.
- Global Tourism
- Travel industries can use the universal imagery of McDonald's restaurants to appeal to international customers visiting new countries and cities.
