BIG MAC 50TH ANNIVERSARY - CASE STUDY

THE PRODUCT
The world's most famous burger. The Bic Mac does not need much of an introduction, at least if you are 25+. In that case, you might even be able to hum along to 'Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun'.

BACKGROUND
Despite 50 years as the centrepiece of the McDonald’s menu, people weren't as fussed about the Big Mac as they once were. 
With the growth of the Big Mac beginning to slow, McDonald’s introduced two new Big Mac sizes for a six-week promotional window — the Mac Jr. and the Grand Big Mac — to drum up excitement around its most iconic burger and remind people how much they loved the original.

THE AUDIENCE
25-54 year old. Some were still eating the Big Mac, still hooked since first trying it however many years ago. But many had lapsed, having had their heads turned by all the new and flashier options out there.

THE STRATEGY
The burger universe had expanded considerably since the Big Mac was born, and lately, trendier burger chains were redefining what a 'proper burger' looked and tasted like. The root of the problem wasn't coming from the outside world, though. We hypothesised that the key issue was the fact that, as a business, McDonald’s is a relentless innovator. In recent years, new, exciting burgers had supplanted the Big Mac in the minds of older McDonald’s regulars, making it seem outdated. 

So, we asked ourselves, in a world where the fast-food market and McDonald’s are continuing to innovate with new and exciting burgers, how could we make this old favourite stand out once again? We, therefore, set out with the strategic proposition: “The Big Mac, so good that after all this time, the only thing we could change is the size”. A way to remind Big Mac lovers, whether they’ve had one recently or not, why they love the Big Mac and encourage anyone who’s never tried one (they must be out there) to taste it for the first time.

BIG IDEA
The Big Mac hasn’t changed in 50 years. But outdated? No. Unimprovable. An iconic taste to get nostalgic over. 
We wanted to take Britain down memory lane, inviting people of all ages to reminisce about their first taste of the inimitable Big Mac, and then enjoy it all over again. 

RESULTS
The results were stunning:
3 Million Big Macs sold in the first week.
The first three weeks saw Grand Big Mac achieve 250% of the full promotion projection of UPTs(units per thousand), with Big Mac at 79%. 
Across the six weeks, Grand Big Mac performed +128% above projection, resulting in an unprecedented increase in total sales.

THE CAMPAIGN