New McDonald's Christmas ad features a 3D printed doll named Juliette

New McDonald's Christmas ad features a 3D printed doll named Juliette

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Fast food giant McDonald’s has arguably been behind some of the most iconic ads ever, from its “You deserve a break today” campaign to the ever popular “I’m lovin’ it” slogan sung by pop sensation Justin Timberlake. If there is one thing that is obvious about their ad campaigning, it is that McDonald’s has its finger on the pulse and knows how to get their consumer’s craving not only their food, but the overall McDonald’s experience.

McDonald’s UK’s latest ad campaign, which is set to be its “biggest ever” Christmas campaign, features a 3D printed doll named Juliette who is looking to find a home after sitting on a toy store shelf for a year. The lonely doll, who looks longingly from her store-front window at people laughing and happily eating in the McDonald’s across the street, eventually escapes the store to find happiness in the restaurant. The ad ends with Juliette being carried away in a shopping bag with her new “Meteor Mike” toy-friend.

The ad, created by London-based ad agency Leo Burnett, is hoping to appeal to Christmas shoppers, families, and party-goers who are looking for easy and fast fuel over the holiday season. In addition to the 90 second TV ad-spot, Juliette, the 3D printed doll, will be featured in the McDonald’s Christmas Menu ad, as well as on its seasonal packaging.

As mentioned, the doll in the short video was made from 3D printed parts—the face was hand painted—and was animated using a combination of puppeteering and CGI. The other dolls in the campaign were also made with the help of 3D printing. The advert was directed by Gary Freedman and was realized by Philip Meyler and Darren Keff, a creative team at Leo Burnett.

“I am very proud of our contribution to the competitive Christmas advertising window, and delighted to bring our biggest ever campaign to life with Juliette and her adventure,” commented  Emily Somers, Vice President of Food & Marketing, McDonald’s UK. “The advert kick starts an eight week multi-channel Christmas celebration which sees us use AV, out of home, digital and in-store advertising to bring the campaign to life and to deliver good times for our customers and employees this December.”

In addition to the Juliette ads, McDonald’s UK has teamed up with Amazon and augmented reality developer Blippar to offer their customers extra gifts during the holiday season. During the month of December, all McDonald’s UK stores will feature augmented reality tray mats designed to look like advent calendars. If customers download the Blippar app on their mobile devices, they will be able to open a door of the calendar each day to reveal what they’ve won. Prizes include £10 Amazon gift certificates, as well as games, avatars, and camera filters.

In terms of 3D printing animation, this is not the first time McDonald’s UK has worked with the technology, as an ad campaign released earlier this year featured an impressive number of 3D printed dolls and props. The “Always Working” campaign, which highlighted how the company is continually working on improving its Happy Meal, was also created by the Leo Burnett agency.