The Brief

In recent years, McDonald's restaurants have become more sophisticated, and while they're now more appealing to adults, they've lost that sense of magic and playfulness for kids. Our task was to change the way kids saw their McDonald's, and bring some magic back to their experience – without actually changing the restaurants. But kids' imaginations can transform a place more profoundly than any coat of paint or new furniture ever could. And parents look for experiences for their kids that are more than empty entertainment; that stimulate creativity and help their children develop and grow.

Creative Execution

Some of the most powerful experiences that kids have are the ones they create for themselves. Emlings lets them reimagine their world – and their McDonald's – as a place where imagination, creativity and fun hides around every corner. McDonald's and the Happy Meal have always represented fun for kids, and Emlings is, first and foremost, great fun for kids. But it also sparks imagination and encourages creative thinking. Developed in consultation with child development experts and parents, the experiences within the app can also help kids develop cognitive, language and problem solving skills - without losing any of the magic.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We overlaid these modern restaurants with a secret world of imagination that only kids can see, through a dedicated smartphone and tablet app. And we filled this world with millions of curious little creatures called Emlings. Our desired outcome was for parents of kids aged 4-8 to download the app for their children. In addition, if they purchased a Happy Meal, they could scan a special marker to discover a special Emling from a lost 'tribe'. And if they chose healthy food options, they could scan these to find gifts that they could use to accessorise their Emlings.

Results

Launch week saw more than 22,000 app downloads without any external media support, proving that Emlings is engaging kids in restaurant. More than 120,000 Emlings were rescued, and 3,800+ Tribe Emlings were found in Happy Meals within that week. Within the first month, Emlings passed 110,000 downloads, the equivalent of one new player every 30 seconds. Average playtime was 15 minutes, well above the 9.6 minute benchmark. Around 60% of player activity was from returning players. Emlings will now roll out internationally, beginning in New Zealand, with plans to extend to other markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Korea and China.