The Brief

Objective: Our main objective was to make Chinese men want our Beef burgers, and to big up our ‘100% beef’ quality credentials.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Insight: Men in China were loosing touch with their manly side. They have become clean cut, coiffured and manicured, shadows of their former selves. Many men want to liberate themselves from this, and want to get back to a simpler time where they could act as nature intended and not feel ashamed. They wanted to be MEN and to feel PROUD to be so. Solution: “100% Real Beef for 100% Manly Man”

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Beef category sales increased by 87% during the campaign. The ‘100% superior beef’ quality message also resonated more with our manly consumers compared to 2011. Recognition was up 25% in Shanghai, up 30% in Guangzhou, and was 12% in Beijing. Sales of all beef combo sets vs. 2011 increased by a whopping 28.4%, and sales of the extra value meal increased by 8.6%. 40% more consumers visited McDonald’s and spent 10% more in the restaurant. 25.6 million online impressions were generated. People interacted with the brand content over 5 million times, and generated a total of 559,000 topic threads.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Solution: “100% Real Beef for 100% Manly Man” TVC: We studied the characteristics of men from different areas around China, and developed one national thematic TVC and four tailor-made TVCs that paid tribute to local manliness in a light-hearted way. OOH: We also created the ‘100 Ways to be a Manly Man’ outdoor campaign. Digital: We amplified our idea by creating the ‘Valentine Big Mac Box’ (comprising of a customized manly man t-shirt), and collaborated with an online shopping site to market these as the manly gifts for your man during Valentine’s Day.