McDonald's McHappy Day Returns to Support RMHC and Canadian Children’s Charities

McHappy Day made its annual return on Wednesday, May 8th, marking its 30th event in Canada. The funds raised on McHappy Day play a crucial role in providing vital assistance to families staying with Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), as well as to various local children’s charities across Canada. This year, McDonald’s Canada raised $8.9M on McHappy Day. 

McHappy Day is McDonald’s Canada’s largest charity-driven program. Since the first Ronald McDonald House opened its doors in 1981, fundraising programs like McHappy Day have helped RMHC support over 468,000 Canadian families.

“As we celebrate another successful McHappy Day, we’re honoured to share that our 30th event in Canada has contributed to over $100M raised for RMHC over the years,” says Rebecca Smart, marketing director for brand strategy and content at McDonald’s Canada. “This means we’ve been able to provide even more assistance to families staying at RMHC locations across Canada, providing accommodations, food, and mental health and wellness support while their child is receiving medical care.” 

During McHappy Day, doing good is as simple as ordering your favourite items and grabbing some cool merch. This year’s campaign honed in on the feel-good spirit at the heart of McHappy Day and brought an entire community together. There’s a distinct vibe on McHappy Day, and the energy is infectious because your easy Big Mac meal does more than taste good - it does good. 

“On McHappy Day, your McDonald’s order can change the lives of Canadian families,” says Jason Hill, executive creative director at Cossette. “If you’ve ever been inside the restaurant on McHappy Day, there’s a real community spirit and the restaurants are fully decorated with balloons and the whole bit. This year, for the event’s 30th anniversary, we landed on the thought that when you do good, you feel good. And for the spot that aired, Dinah Washington’s ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’ was the perfect track to help us tell that story.” 

In collaboration with Cossette, Weber Shandwick and OMD, which handled the media, McDonald’s Canada spread the word about McHappy Day using TV, OLV, radio/Spotify, OOH, paid and organic social, PR, and merch to help spread the word - making sure everyone knew McHappy Day was on May 8th. 

“We’re honoured to partner with McDonald’s Canada and RMHC in support of their vital mission of providing a home away from home for families with sick children,” says Greg Power, president and CEO at Weber Shandwick Canada. “Over the last 30 McHappy Day events, the program has evolved as we engage new audiences through new channels to build support for one of the most impactful charities in Canada.” 

Cathy Collier, CEO at OMD Canada, adds, “RMHC helps so many people in our community, and McHappy Day is the one day of the year that brings us all together to support the same cause. We introduce new campaign elements every year, with the ultimate goal of driving consumers to McDonald’s restaurants to experience what McHappy Day is all about - community engagement.”