Work of the Week: 18/10/2024

Fans of the McDonald’s McRib rejoiced this week when its long-awaited return to restaurants was officially announced after a series of glitchy teasers and ‘accidental’ hints. 

It’s been ten years since the McRib was last available in the UK, so, to play into people’s cravings, McDonalds and Leo Burnett unleashed ‘McRib Returns?’, a campaign fuelled by teasing fans and sparking speculation across McDonald’s app users and email subscribers. It started with a push notification sent to 1.82 million app users, which read, “McRib_Test.notification_16.10.24 [TEST]”, building from here, next came a broken email, followed by glitchy appearances of the McRib in out of home ads across London. 

Leo Burnett then dropped the custom track ‘McRib FM’ in McDonald’s restaurants and on Spotify, with further cryptic OOH placements appearing on the 7th October, until the return was finally confirmed on the 16th October. 

The campaign is testament to playing the long game, building anticipation and really knowing your fans. Hats off to McDonald’s. 

Celebrating ten years of collaboration between Brazilian women’s clothing and lifestyle brand FARM Rio and adidas, production company LOS YORK and director Gabriel Novis took to the sky to showcase the commemorative capsule collection. 

A vibrant, gravity defying campaign featuring real athletes dressed in bold prints and enjoying a game of the Brazilian beach game, ‘Altinha’, the spot captures the unique energy of both brands, harnessing the power of collaboration between the brands and athletes on screen.

Have you ever considered that the pesky fly you absent-mindedly swat away, might just be trying to enjoy its day too? That’s the case in this fun mixed media tour of Vienna from the Vienna Tourist Board, agency Jung Von Matt and Blinkink director Sam Gainsborough, marketing the 150th anniversary of the Vienna Central Cemetery. 

A city with a deep and storied relationship with death, the short film showcases a vibrant animated mayfly enjoying her single day of life in Vienna, enjoying all the city has to offer and escaping death whilst doing so. Taking in the historic architecture, cafe culture, museums, galleries and even taking a tipsy tram ride, the mayfly packs a lot into its day, before unceremoniously dying at the snack table. 

Viewed through the mayfly’s kaleidoscopic eyes, every moment counts in this whistle stop tour full of twists and turns and ups and downs, underscored by the prevailing warning, “For a mayfly, death is always close by.”

 

I doubt there’s a song more well suited to this spot than The Pet Shop Boys’ anthemic ‘Left to My Own Devices’. EE’s ‘Clocking Off’ campaign, created by Saatchi and directed by Daniel Wolfe through Love Song, shows the power of connectivity offered by the technology. 

Turning monochromatic, robotic workers into individual people enjoying their own time and space after work, it spotlights the diversity of pastimes that people get up to once left to their own devices, and that everything is possible thanks to the power of EE. 

 ‘If you don’t hate running a little, you don’t love running enough’ is the thought behind the latest instalment of Nike’s ‘Winning Isn’t Comfortable’ campaign, which this time tackles the challenge that stairs pose, the day after running a marathon. Aptly titled ‘Stairs’, the campaign comedically draws on the post-marathon burn that’s felt the day after a long run, showing struggling athletes attempting to navigate staircases, and even struggle to sit down. 

Directed by MEGAFORCE through Iconoclast and created by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the irreverent campaign, soundtracked by Nazareth's ‘Love Hurts’, brings some light hearted humour to a pain that many within the running community can empathise with. 

  

This piece of work well and truly stopped me in my tracks. I first came across it on Instagram stories, as an influencer proudly wore her ‘CPR Bra’ and I immediately had to find out who made it. It’s the work of agency team Revolt and Fight or Flight, who teamed up to mark Restart a Heart Day with St John Ambulance. 

Staggeringly, a third of Brits are afraid to give CPR to a woman because they are worried about touching breasts. This spurred the release of the CPR Bra, created to reassure people that taking quick and decisive action is the right thing to do, and that CPR is performed the same way on a woman’s body, as it is a man’s. 

Fronted by footballer Millie Bright and a number of social media influencers, the taboo breaking campaign was created by an all-female core team, joining the fight to address the CPR gender gap and save lives. 

After the country experienced its worst flooding in 30 years, thousands of families in Northern Thailand have been displaced, losing their homes due to the extensive damage caused by floodwaters and mud. In a bid to help rebuild the affected communities, IKEA Thailand has rallied people together by launching the ‘Flooded Room’ campaign. 

Created with VML Thailand, the campaign is a twist on IKEA’s classic room ads -featuring expertly styled spaces, with flooded, water damaged rooms. The visual campaign, working in partnership with The Mirror Foundation, aims to raise awareness and support for those affected by the flooding, encouraging customers to donate or even sell-back their old IKEA furniture, which will then be distributed to those most in need. 

Remarkably, the campaign launched just within 24 hours of the disaster, helping to provide immediate relief and bring communities together, showcasing the power of rapid creative response in times of crisis. 

Shattering perceptions of what a typical ‘gamer’ looks like, VML Riyadh and stcplay have launched ‘Every Gamer has a Place’, a stereotype shifting exploration of the many different kinds of people who are also gamers. 

Including people from all walks of life, from distracted parents to medal-wearing grandparents, triumphant younger siblings and preoccupied workmen, the fast-paced campaign spotlights the diversity of the gaming community and the inclusive and vibrant spirit of gaming culture.