DDB and McDonald’s have stepped into nostalgic advertising by resurrecting the Big Mac chant, seeking to catapult love for the burger from one generation to the next.
The reintroduction of the classic Big Mac Chant was not only a key to associate the food chain with fond memories of Australian customers from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, but further appeal to younger generations as well.
“Nostalgia is one of the most powerful emotional levers you can pull. Don Draper does a good job explaining it in season one of Mad Men,” DDB executive creative director Matt Chandler told AdNews.
“But we all feel it when nostalgia hits, there’s a comfort you get from the familiar, particularly something that takes you back in time so effortlessly, like a classic song, or in this case the Big Mac chant.”
Two all-beef patties, Special Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
In the case of the Big Mac, says Chandler, nostalgia alone was never going to be enough.
"It’s a starting point and an emotional hook, there’s a lot more to come.”
McDonald’s Australia marketing director Samantha McLeod said the company's ultimate goal was to create the next generation of Big Mac fans by reinvigorating its emotional role in culture.
The company did this through taking a two-pronged approach to its target audience.
By leveraging the loved Big Mac Chant, McDonald’s wanted to re-engage the older generations who know and love the chant, says McLeod.
“While also introducing it to a new, younger audience in a modern and fresh way,” she says.
“The campaign creates this beautiful tension between generations where anyone 40-ish years or older will recognise the chant, while anyone younger has likely never heard of it. As displayed in the ad, this sparks conversation and relevancy between generations, bringing them together over a burger that has stood the test of time – the Big Mac!”
Modern audiences today will connect with the chant, referencing advertisements before their time, because the chant is an idea that went viral before there was an internet to go viral on, says Chandler.
“We trusted that there was an inherent quality to it – the tongue-twisting-challenging nature of the thing, that would be timeless and just as loved today as it was in the '70s,” he says.
But the trick wasn’t bringing back the chant, that’s a no-brainer, says Chandler, it was about giving it meaning and relevance for a new generation.
“Working with OMD, Snapchat and the rest of our partners to put this inherently participatory idea in all the right places. (Stay tuned!).”
Future nostalgia is a huge trend, says Mcleod. McDonald’s has tapped into this through its identified connection opportunity around ‘playful participation’ with this campaign.
“We’ve seen the rise of ‘kidulting’ and consumers are looking for an opportunity to have fun, find joy and escape the everyday,” says McLeod.
“Nostalgic marketing provides all of this, plus a way to connect with others over shared experiences.”
The chant has reappeared in a few forms over the years.
But Chandler says the idea of 'The Original Mouthful' is what gives this particular version depth, charm and resonance.
“It’s a timeless, iconic thing the Big Mac, unchanged for so many decades because it’s the first and the best of its kind – that’s what the campaign lands, more so than just the words of the chant,” he says.
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