McDonald’s brings anime fandom to life for immersive global campaign

Dive Brief:

McDonald's on Feb. 26 will launch a campaign inspired by how the brand is often depicted in anime and manga, with a "WcDonald's" push in more than 30 global markets that includes a new sauce, packaging, episodic content and more, per a press release.
The chain has teamed with Japanese artist Acky Bright on manga-inspired packaging that can be scanned to reveal a full cast of WcDonald's characters and with animation house Studio Pierrot on a four-episode anime series. The effort also includes a limited-edition Savory Chili WcDonald's sauce.
In addition, consumers can reserve on OpenTable starting Feb. 28 a spot at a WcDonald's Immersive Dining Experience in Los Angeles that will run March 9-10. The anime- and manga-inspired campaign represents McDonald's latest effort to engage consumers around pop culture and nostalgia.

Dive Insight:

With its latest cultural play, McDonald's is bringing its fictional depiction in anime and manga to life in a global campaign that spans a variety of channels. WcDonald's and its upside-down "W" first appeared in anime in the 1980s and has continued to appear in the form in the years since.

"Anime is a huge part of today's culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years," said Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald's USA, in the press release. "The WcDonald's universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever."

WcDonald's sign — The “WcDonald’s” sign

Courtesy of McDonald's USA

At restaurants, consumers can enter the world of WcDonald's through a limited-time sauce that brings together ginger, garlic, soy and chili and manga-inspired packaging illustrated by Acky Bright. The packaging features codes that can be scanned to access weekly digital manga drops that feature WcDonald's characters, including restaurant regular Hashirune, "jokester" Mr. Bev and mecha WcDizer 3000. McDonald's will also provide three up-and-coming anime artists with grants and a one-on-one mentoring session with Bright.

The packaging also connects consumers to four episodic shorts produced by Studio Pierrot (“Naruto,” “Bleach”) that pay homage to four of anime's biggest subgenres: action, romance, mecha and fantasy. The anime shorts will drop weekly on Mondays between Feb. 26 and March 18, giving consumers a reason to return to the chain all month.

For consumers in Los Angeles, WcDonald's will come to life as an immersive dining experience featuring 360-degree projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections. McDonald's has previously used immersive experiences utilizing augmented reality and virtual reality to bridge the physical and digital domains, while competitor Wendy's expanded its collaboration with "Rick and Morty" via a pop-up restaurant.

The campaign will launch in select markets across North America, South and Central America, Asia and Europe, including the U.S., Canada, Portugal, Hong Kong and more, according to a McDonald’s spokesperson.

McDonald’s has continued to engage with consumers around marketing that taps into culture and nostalgia, including plays last year like a collaboration with artist and streetwear influencer Kerwin Frost for a customized Happy Meal box and a revenue-driving play around the birthday of brand mascot Grimace that was one of the year's top campaigns.