| Title | BIG MAC AWARD |
| Brand | McDONALD'S JAPAN |
| Product / Service | BIG MAC |
| Category | A04. Best Use or Integration of User-Generated Content |
| Entrant | DDB JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Entrant Company | DDB JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Contributing Company | DDB JAPAN Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Contributing Company 2 | DESIGN ASSOCIATION Tokyo, JAPAN |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Tetsuya Kurita | Paragraph | Shooting Assistant Director |
| Mie Koshihara | Paragraph | Shooting Director |
| Atsushi Kumon | Slp | Director |
| Jun Deguchi | Agile Media Networks | Social Media Planner |
| Hideaki Sato | Ddb Japan | Copywriter |
| Shiho Osumi | Ddb Japan | Designer |
| Satoko Iida | Ddb Japan | Art Director |
| Ryoto Mori | Ddb Japan | Social Community Manager |
| Shunsuke Sunagawa | Ddb Japan | Planner/Content Manager |
| Satoshi Hashimoto | Ddb Japan | Planner |
| Cairo Marsh | Ddb Japan | Supervisor |
| Toshiaki Kawamata | Design Association Npo | Producer |
| Shigeki Ochi | Design Association Npo | Executive Producer |
| Hideaki Shirakawa | Mcdonald's Japan | Client Supervisor |
The Big Mac is one of the most iconic burgers in the world. It first hit the island of Japan in 1971 and remains popular with older adults – customers who used to visit McDonald’s when they were younger. However, consequentially, the Big Mac brand does not resonate with teenagers and young adults. McDonald’s needed to do something big for the Big Mac and show the younger generation what a Big Mac is all about.
The first leg of the campaign was an art contest for young people to visualize an artistic interpretation of what the Big Mac is to them. One lucky inspirational artist would have their work be integrated into the Big Mac purchasing experience – from packaging, to tray mats, even to the take-away bags. Young and aspiring artists were asked to create their own original masterpieces featuring Big Mac. They were then asked to post their works to a dedicated online gallery. A panel of judges made up of an eclectic mix of well-known creators in in the country judged the entries to a shortlist the best 16 entries that would go on to the final round and be chosen by the people. To spread the word, McDonald leveraged its email member database to reach out to more than 38 million members and asked them to come and vote for their favorite. People could win coupons just by voting. In addition, we utilized McDonald’s official social property fan bases, and of course the 3,300 retail outlets nationwide.
So we created the Big Mac Awards that will recognize these youths and celebrate their individualism and what makes them special. Instead of telling youths what the Big Mac experience was, McDonald’s wanted them to feel it for themselves. What better way to make Big Mac mean something to someone? Let them own a part of the experience.
A total of 1,369 works were submitted in a one month span and close to 90,000 people voted for their favorite Big Mac art, making it one of the biggest activation campaign ever for McDonald’s Japan. Social was effectively leveraged to increase Facebook fans and Twitter followers by 33% and 26% respectively. During the same period, McDonald’s sold 300% more Big Macs than the previous year. And one lucky artist was left their impression on the most iconic burger in the world – and be part of over 2,000,000 Big Mac experiences. Through empowering youth to own a piece of the experience allowed the younger generation to see the Big Mac in a new light and revive the iconic status in their hearts and minds.