McDonald’s, in collaboration with Leo Burnett, is launching a bold new campaign for their breakfast menu called “Breakfast Done Properly.” The campaign is built on a simple but powerful idea: McDonald’s breakfast is so iconic that it doesn’t need any logos, product names, or slogans to be recognized. It’s instantly identifiable by its shapes and textures, and that’s enough to communicate the brand.
Research conducted by Savanta’s McVue tool revealed that 90% of people could identify McDonald’s breakfast items without any branding. This insight has driven McDonald’s to remove all logos from the ads and let the food speak for itself. The campaign features 30- and 10-second videos that focus on close-ups of popular breakfast items like the Sausage & Egg McMuffin, Hash Browns, and Breakfast Wrap. Set to cinematic music, the ads highlight the distinct shapes and textures of McDonald’s breakfast offerings, emphasizing how familiar they are to people.
The campaign will be seen across TV, out-of-home (OOH) ads, radio, social media, and in-store displays. On OOH placements, large, bold images of McDonald’s breakfast items will dominate billboards, and on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, looping videos will showcase these items. Radio ads will evoke the image of McDonald’s breakfast in listeners’ minds, prompting them to picture their favorite items without saying the brand name. In-store screens, Drive-Thru kiosks, and CRM notifications will also reinforce the message.
Matthew Reischauer, Marketing Director of McDonald’s UK & IE, says, “McDonald’s Breakfast is a morning staple. This campaign celebrates the love people already have for it, letting the food do all the talking.”
The campaign will run for six weeks, starting on March 23, 2025, and aims to make McDonald’s breakfast the go-to choice for people every morning.
CREDITS
Campaign Title: ‘Iconic Needs No Explanation’
Client: McDonald’s
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett
McDonald’s
Chief Marketing Officer: Ben Fox
Marketing Director: Matthew Reischauer
Head of Marketing – Food And Beverages: Ben Sherburn
Marketing Manager: Lucy Johnson
Senior Brand Manager: Josie Thompson-Green
Marketing Executive: Kai McHugh
Consumer Insights Manager: Siddhi Suchak
Leo Burnett
CCO: Mark Elwood
Executive Creative Directors: Andrew Long and James Millers
Creative Directors: Jason Keet and James Hodson
Creatives: Kerry Donnelly and Zoe Davies
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Planners: Ipeknaz Erel And Alexandra Arnold-Jones
Managing Partner: Layla Potter
Business Lead: Bella Bertolotti
Senior Account Director: Jessica Lyons
Senior Account Manager: Natasha Meisel
Account Executive: Zoe Buchalter
Senior Agency Producer: Jennifer Fewster
Media Buying Agency: OMD
Media Planners: Stephanie Holman, Holly Rosier, Reilly Sadowski-Synnott
AV + MACRO OOH Production Company: Darling Films
Director: Scott Grummett
Production Company Producer: Kelly Doyle
Executive Producer: Clare Timms
Production Manager: Michaela Miesen
Director Of Photography: Tim Green
Editor: Adam Rudd, Whitehouse Post
Editor Producer: Annabel Bennett
Audio Post-Production Company: Harbor
Sound Design & Mix: George Castle
Audio Producer: Hannah Jarrold & Savannah King
Post-Production Company: Black Kite Studios
VFX Lead: Marcus Moffatt
Grade: George Kyriacou
Post Production Producer: Hazel Gibson
Music Track Finder: Native Music
Clearance: Sharpa
VI OOH SHOOT
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Project Manager: Adrienne Lindeque
Photographer: Tina Hillar
Rep Agency: Crxss Agency
Agent / Producer: Elena Huntley
1st Assistant: Seán Donnellan
Digital Operator: Lewis Bench
DOP: Simon Paul
Focus Puller: Bernin Isaac
DIT: Ewan Macfarlan
Food Stylist: Udo Reichelt-Schaurer
Food Stylist Assistant: Olha Diachenko
PDG Producer: Farah Ikhlas
MACRO OOH SHOOT
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Project Manager: Adrienne Lindeque
Photographer: Scott Grummett
Production: Bailey Wade / Darling Films / Prodigious
Food Stylist: Udo Reichlet-Schaurer
Food Stylist Asst: Olha Diachenko
Digi OP: Ben Colson
Spark: Rob Stewart
Lighting Assist: Sam Dearden
