For the Dutch, McDonald’s is a king of convenience. This has a quite functional connotation. To build brand preference, the goal was to add more emotional meaning to it, make the role of the brand more personal and close, showing how McDonald’s is Always open for good times, the theme of the brand’s campaign.

For 85% of all Dutch visiting the restaurants, McDonald’s taps into different needs. One natural brand role that comes out of data analysis, is that guests visit McDonald’s to celebrate special moments. This role perfectly suited a campaign designated to air at the end of the year, nearing the festive season.

Special moments we experience with our loved ones are the moments that mean the most. The TVC addresses a moment that is relatable and recognizable: the first time new parents get to go out after the baby is born, with just the two of them. There is excitement of finally having the intimacy of being together again, but there is also this feeling of being a bit anxious to leave your child alone.

The TVC was accompanied with a new sweet and tender version of Tiffany’s ‘I think we’re alone now’. The use of the classic song in a new, modern coat worked perfectly to fully encapsulate the insight.

We took a very different approach by not starting with food or the restaurants but placing the brand in a very modest role as facilitator of Good Times. The story of two people is the hero. The idea connects a human insight to something unique and structural to the brand. The Drive-thru, so normal to everyone, gets a new, special and emotional connotation.

The choice of the song connects to in a similar way. It is a song that is very specific to the age group that our two main characters are in. This way we were able to relate even more to our target audience. But the modern version made it emotional and relatable to everyone.

The version by Tiffany is ‘peppy’, upbeat and reflects the coming of age of a young girl. Her version is therefore exciting, fun and the ‘alone’ part of the song is regarding a girl being alone with a youth romance.

In our version, we flipped the meaning of the song. The parents finally get the time to be alone together. But by using the piano as the only instrumentation, and slowing the tempo down, the song gets a melancholic touch. It expresses that the situation that the parents are in, is bittersweet. The moment they were looking forward to, to finally be alone together, now feels empty. They are missing the now essential part of their new lives.

The song that was once the pinnacle in expressing teen love and fun, now is transformed for a mature story of those grown-up teenagers.

The goal of the ‘First Night Out’ TVC was to connect the brand on a more emotional level to the guests. To show that McDonald’s knows what is going on in the lives of their guests and that it is always there to provide those spontaneous moments of joy, no matter what the situation is.

In analysis by Kantar Millward Brown, we were able to see that ‘First Night Out’ was able to deliver on both key emotional messages. Viewers both felt that McDonald’s delivered spontaneous moments of joy, and also felt real and close.

The TVC rated as positively involving, and viewers reported high enjoyment.

The impact of the song was so strong, that online requests were made to release the song on Spotify.