Leo Burnett London Spreads Happiness in New McDonald's Campaign

Hornet created this lovable campaign for McDonald's with good friends Leo Burnett London to introduce the restaurant’s mischievous global mascots, the Happys, to the UK. The adverts follow the playful pair of boisterous boxes during their food-fueled adventures and show how they find the fun in every Happy Meal.

The campaign continues Hornet’s long standing relationship with Leo Burnett London for the family friendly brand, with Hornet Director Peter Sluszka skillfully leading the design and animation teams.

“Having the open communication lines and good working relationship that we do with Leo Burnett is invaluable when you’re starting a new campaign like this. It helps facilitate our creative process and efficiency,” said Sluszka.

Sluszka — who is well known for his seamless blend of techniques, art direction and mixed media work — helped craft the campaign’s message through masterful storytelling and keen sense of design by pulling out his CG toolkit and flexing some animation muscle. 

“Stylistically, these spots are a departure from previous in-camera and fabrication based projects,” noted Sluszka. “It was exciting for us to develop these new worlds for the Happys, bring them to life and tell their story on the screen.”

Hornet’s extensive CG pipeline allowed the 3D team to create highly specific functions and custom rigs for the Happys’ incremental movements and responses. This acute level of technical precision gave room for the characters to deliver very real and relatable qualities, resulting in moments where the heroes simply look and think as well as just enjoy each other's company. The talents of the skillful animators, coupled with some well-timed slapstick and dramatic expression, came together to bring laughter and levity to the campaign while staying true to McDonald’s message.