Why McDonald’s Canada Turned Its Golden Arches into Road Trip Pit Stops
Who doesn’t love a road trip pit stop for food? Whether you’ve been in the car for 30 minutes or three hours, the chance to stretch your legs, possibly use the bathroom, and refuel with some delicious grub really has a special sort of feel. The coffee tastes better. The pastries are flakier. And that burger you ordered never felt quite so right. It’s truly a magical experience, and one that, considering the geographical size of Canada, is something everyone has probably enjoyed at least once.
Well aware of this fact was creative agency Cossette, along with McDonald’s Canada, which happens to be quite the popular road trip destination across the country. And to this end, having already run successful campaigns about just this in previous years, it seemed the perfect opportunity to do it again.
The result? The creation of ‘The Essential Pit Stop’, an out-of-home campaign that was two years in the making. Consisting of uniquely tailored ads across Canada, each used a fraction of the golden arches, depicting the left and right prongs as popular travel destinations, and the middle as commonly enjoyed McDonald’s food items. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, every province had its popular landmarks featured, hitting the perfect blend of nostalgia and relatability, and resulting in work that truly resonated from coast to coast.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Cossette creative director Cédric Audet and McDonald’s Canada’s director, brand and content strategy, Rebecca Smart, to learn just what it took to bring this massive endeavour to life.
LBB> What was the brief for this campaign, and what immediate ideas came to mind?
Rebecca> Cossette approached us with this proactive idea, driven by our shared desire to explore new things, elevate our brand presence, and connect with our audience at opportune moments.
This idea was built on an authentic fan truth that stopping at McDonald’s is essential to every Canadian road trip. After all, when Canadians reminisce about their road trip memories, you’ll frequently hear them recall a stop at McDonald’s. It’s an experience that no other brand can own in the way we do. Whether it’s a coffee break or an on-the-go lunch, the golden arches are a beacon along the journey.
Cédric> Initially, the McDonald’s Canada ‘Pit Stop’ campaign ran exclusively along Quebec roads, before expanding its presence across Canada. So, the idea was born from a McDonald’s fan truth rather than a specific brief. It was crafted with a cultural insight: more than 60% of Quebecers say they like to hit the road to visit the province in the summer. To align with a broader audience, we customised the campaign to target all road travellers in Canada.
LBB> And specifically, what made this summer the right time to do this?
Rebecca> The idea effortlessly came together at the right place and time. We loved how it allowed us to engage in a relevant way with specific Canadian destinations, from the Calgary Stampede to the Cabot Trail. It also resonates with our shared post covid-19 mindset, as we are now more inclined than ever to explore more of the country.
LBB> The idea of using the McDonald’s arches as roadtrip waypoints is clever! Where did this come from, and specifically, why did you only use a fraction of the arches, rather than the whole logo?
Cédric> The golden arches are as iconic as it gets when it comes to logos. You don’t even have to see them in their entirety to recognise them; somehow, they’re even more powerful that way, because the brain completes the symbol.
It’s for this reason that strategically, using only a fraction of the logo was ideal here. The way the arches are made allowed us to naturally position ‘point M’ between point A and point B. In a way, this concept was hiding in plain sight.
LBB> Building on this, how did you design the creative to specifically be meaningful to road travellers?
Cédric> The simplicity of the storytelling dictated the creative. For us, this was unmistakably a billboard campaign from the get-go: half a logo, three words, one strong insight and undeniable brand recognition.
In terms of being meaningful to road travellers, I feel like there’s always been a strong connection between road trips and McDonald’s. It’s the convenience, the locations along Canadian roads, the cravings during the trip or, most often, the well-deserved break after hours of driving. A stop at McDonald’s is always a crowd-pleaser!
LBB> How many different iterations did you come up with, what was the process of writing region/location-specific tags like, and are there any you’re especially fond of?
Cédric> Hundreds of iterations! And boy, was that fun! We started out with evergreen, more universal destinations. We explored specific cities, activities, events, moments - everything. The work began at the Cossette Montreal office, but quickly, teams from Toronto, Vancouver and Cossette East joined the party to chime in with great location-specific lines for each region. A real, genuinely fun coast-to-coast effort from the teams at Cossette, OMD and McDonald’s.
As for favourites, there are too many to point out! That being said, I really love the simple ones. ‘Condo-Cone-Canoe’, to me, is a masterclass in clever efficiency. Those three words sum up the campaign in a nutshell. You get out of the city, stop for a summer treat, then unwind and connect with nature. And it takes about two seconds to paint that picture. The criteria for the lines was to be short and insightful, and they needed to have a ring to them, just like that.
LBB> How many different billboards did you end up placing? And how did you ensure they were strategically placed for maximum campaign impact?
Cédric> For phase one, we had about a dozen billboards up during the summer. OMD, the media partner, did a great job finding the perfect locations to tell insightful stories. The intention is to have more executions to highlight different Canadian fan experiences at various times throughout the year. Think fall, ski season, hockey season, etc.
LBB> The accompanying video is super fun! How did this aspect come to life, and how did you find the right music for the job?
Cédric> Thanks! It was fun to make as well. We now live in a ‘case study world’ because of award shows, agency reels and new business pitches, so we knew we would end up needing a video to present the campaign. So, we decided to do it right away. It really helped showcase the idea in a fun and compelling way.
And as for the soundtrack, the answer is many hours on a stock music site!
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
Cédric> This idea rallied everyone together from the get-go. What we really needed was great planning to make it happen. McDonald’s is one of the biggest advertisers in the country, so finding a window to be in the market without stepping on other campaigns’ toes was really important for us.
Rebecca> Narrowing down the list! Cossette had hundreds of iterations on the theme which we had to whittle down to the right placements with the right messaging.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this project?
Rebecca> To leverage the power of local insight. It’s all about the ‘IYKYK’ sentiment to elevate our local fan relevance.
Cédric> I’m not sure it’s a lesson, but if I had to sum up the process in one word, I’d say: ‘time’. In all, this campaign took about two years to see the light of day. When dealing with bigger brands, you need to give yourself time to make things happen. Lots of eyeballs are going to review the ideas, from internal teams to global management and legal departments. You just need a good balance between grit, urgency and patience.
In the case of a brand as big as McDonald’s, there’s also an invisible race. A race against every other creative team in the world, really. As we speak, there are probably teams in Brazil, France and Singapore working on the exact same brief for the brand. It’s a friendly but fierce creative competition to see who’s going to come up with the freshest idea for this iconic brand.
LBB> How did this campaign fit into McDonald’s Canada plans for 2023 and beyond?
Rebecca> Our ambition is to keep showing up in ways only McDonald’s Canada can, adding a sense of the unexpected to solidify our creative leadership position in the industry. The ‘Essential Pit Stop’ campaign is the kind of work that resonates on both a local and global level. It evokes our past success with the ‘Follow the Arches’ out-of-home campaign, which was picked up in other markets around the world.
LBB> Since launch, how have people reacted to this campaign?
Rebecca> The response has been really positive, with a lot of love from the network!
Cédric> So far, the reaction has been really positive. We’ve received great feedback from the industry, locally and internationally, and most importantly, my mom likes it, too.
LBB> Finally, what makes McDonald’s the essential pit stop?
Rebecca> Ask any Canadian to share a road trip memory - whether it’s heading out to a camping trip or a ski resort - and more often than not, you’ll hear that the stop at McDonald’s is what they remember most.
