THE VERY HAPPY MEAL FONT.

TitleTHE VERY HAPPY MEAL FONT.
BrandMCDONALD'S JAPAN
Product / ServiceHAPPY MEAL
CategoryF02. Art Direction / Design
EntrantBEACON/LEO BURNETT Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation BEACON/LEO BURNETT Tokyo, JAPAN
Production ONION Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Erick Rosa Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Chief Creative Officer
Tadashi Inoue Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Executive Creative Director
Ron Smith Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Executive Creative Director
Daichi Tanaka Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Creative Director
Tomoyasu Kurosaki Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Senior Art Director
Ayaka Hoshino Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Copywriter
Chizuru Horikawa Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Head Designer
Takamasa Sakano Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Designer
Kana Hirano Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Designer
Maoko Ochi Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Brand Strategist
Hiroki Mashima Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Film Producer
Kohei Kobayashi Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Assistant Film Producer
Greg Jones Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Group Business Director
Masayuki Namiki Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Group Account Director
Yoshikazu Shimano Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Account Supervisor
Mio Tokuyama Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Account Manager
Shino Fujieda Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Account Executive
Lisa Hiraga Beacon/Leo Burnett Tokyo Account Executive
Mika Archer MSL Japan Account Director
Takao Kuramoto Onion, Inc. Producer
Masakado Kajiwara Onion, Inc. Producer
Chonghao Zhao Onion, Inc. Production Manager
Tetsuya Uesugi KUANI Director
Toshihiko Kizu Connection Cameraman
Masanori Midorikawa freelance Lighting
Ayano Tachibana freelance Stylist
Yuko Takashiro freelance Hair & Make-up
Kenichi Tsutsumi freelance Casting

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

McDonald’s wanted to connect with kids to help the environment and create a fun engagement in which parents could share. We heard from some moms that old Happy Meal toys often pile up, causing stress, and difficulty in getting kids to relinquish the toys. Our solution was to design the Happy Meal Toy Recycling Program. The recycle program was ideal for elevating the brand experience and getting our customers to participate in an environmentally responsible campaign. And to spread the news we enlisted a distinctive artistic style for the store posters that turned TOYS INTO FONTS!

Background

Situation: Parents were feeling stress about old Happy Meal Toys piling up. Kids didn’t want to part with their old toys. The brand wanted to improve the perception of our commitment to using our scale for good. The combination of these issues pushed us to pursue some way of implementing a recycling program to transform toys into trays and positively shift perception of the brand. But for the program to be a success, we needed to get kids’ attention. Brief: Leverage McDonald’s scale for good to create a positive environmental impact through an eye-catching design at retail. Objectives: Build awareness for the recycle program and get significant number of parents & kids to participate in a toy return/recycle program within a 2-month window.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

In the digital age, and with the fast pace of people coming through our restaurants, we needed to make sure kids stopped to take notice and learned about the Toy Recycle program. Our solution was to design the Happy Meal Toy Recycling posters leveraging a distinctive artistic style that showcased the message as toys themselves. We animated the Japanese alphabet – creating playful TYPE into TOYS! Inspired by traditional Japanese wooden toys such as the Daruma doll, the colorful design recycled depictions from the past to ignite interest in the future. The striking art direction, unexpected for McDonald’s restaurants, caused considerable reactions from our customers – especially kids. Kids loved it!

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Target audience: Parents & Kids Approach: Design a series of unique graphic images that helped convey the idea of recycling toys to help the environment.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Implementation: Toy Collection Boxes & posters were placed in every restaurant. Timeline: 2 month period (March - May) Scale: Posters and Toy Collection Boxes were placed in nearly all 3000 restaurants enabling everyone across Japan access to the program. We animated the Japanese alphabet – creating playful TYPE into TOYS! Inspired by traditional Japanese wooden toys such as the Daruma doll, and other well-known cultural icons from children’s stories, etc. – the colorful design recycled depictions from the past to ignite interest in the future. The striking art direction, unexpected for McDonald’s restaurants, caused considerable reactions from our customers – especially kids who spent time exploring the fun imagery. The designs not only captured the attention of kids, but sparked memories from adults who recognized many symbols and visual references within the type designs.

List the results (30% of vote)

Business Impact: In just two months, a staggering 1.2 million toys were collected and recycled. Response Rate: The toys kids returned transformed into over 100,000 smiling green trays! Impressions: PR value in earned media amounted to ¥119,866,641 JPY (Source:PRAP) Change in behavior: Surveys showed 81% of moms believe that McDonald’s is concerned about the environment. And 79% of them thought that McDonald’s contributes positively to the local community and society. (Source:Mcromill) Consumer Awareness: Highest comprehension/awareness scores (50%/81%) of all seasonal programs. (Source:Mcromill)

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