McDonald’s is changing the meaning of “Christmas lists” this year as it launches The Alternative Christmas List, a campaign anchored around a mobile experience accessed through the McDonald’s App, led by Leo Burnett UK.
Instead of being about material objects, McDonald’s Alternative Christmas List is made up of a series of experiences each curated to bring families together to enjoy small but meaningful moment of magic.
At the center of the campaign is the Alternative Christmas List mobile experience. Starting on November 14, the Alternative Christmas List invites fans to enjoy six unique experiences, released weekly in the build up to Christmas. Every experience on The Alternative Christmas List has been created to enhance a shared family moment, and the experiences will include things like McDonald’s festive PJs and Jumpers for the ultimate night in on Christmas Eve, a touring festive photo booth and McDelivery Christmas carollers and festive audio books for those families driving home for Christmas.
To roll out the campaign, McDonald’s has created a 90-second film produced by SMUGGLER and directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper, known for critically acclaimed hits like The King’s Speech and Les Miserables.
The Xmas film tells the story of a little boy named Alfie, who gets carried away with the excitement of writing a Christmas List, before realizing that it’s the little shared moments that really matter. The film sets up the idea of the importance of family time over the materialistic aspect of Christmas, reminding the UK what’s important during the festive season.
Opening on Alfie and his mum looking over the balcony of their flat at neighbors riding a red bike, she encourages him to write a Christmas list for Father Christmas. As the boy builds his list, he becomes more and more carried away with the craft and excitement of it. The list grows and grows: multiplying in length each time we see it. Alfie and his parents are Christmas shopping at their local high street when he asks, “How do you send this to Father Christmas?”. The pages begin to take flight, riding a gust of wind into the sky. The boy and parents chase the list through the town center, but the list flies into the distance. The upset boy is embraced by his parents: mum spots a McDonald’s in the distance and they head in to cheer him up. Mum asks “What was on your list anyway?” Alfie smoothens out a scrunched up page of the list, which he managed to keep; the most important page of them all, it shows a drawing of mum, dad and son.
The spot has launched in cinemas alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and on TV during ITV’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!’ The soundtrack, recorded by Becky Hill, is an enchanting, festive rendition of Yazoo’s track, "Only You."
Chaka Sobhani, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett UK and Global, said: “We can all get a bit carried away by the excitement of Christmas, but we all know it’s those small moments with loved ones that matter the most. We hope the Alternative Christmas List taps into that, particularly in such a difficult year, and gets people up and down the country proper reindeer ready.”
