Everyone knows Pasta's from Italy. But what if Greece suddenly claimed it?

That kinda happened between Singapore and Malaysia.

Because for Singapore's 52nd birthday, McDonald's created a uniquely Singaporean burger inspired by a popular local dish: Nasi Lemak. One little thing we forgot to mention was that our neighbours Malaysia consider 'Nasi Lemak' to be their national dish. Google 'Malaysia national dish' and see for yourself.

And since nothing stirs emotions like patriotism, we tapped into the Singapore and Malaysia's long-held food rivalry by declaring the 'Nasi Lemak' Burger as "Just for you, Singapore."

In other words, we started a food 'fight'.

Our narrative was clear: Declare the 'Nasi Lemak' Burger as a product of Singapore, and make sure Malaysians know that. So we...

Drove curiosity: We invited KOLs for an exclusive tasting event 3 days before launch to create intrigue. It sparked extensive 'earned media' coverage as the idea and the product proved to be delightful (and envied by Malaysians)

Created desire: We did the most tantalizing 'food porn' on film and print that would make any Singaporean drool, and blasted it online, on streets, and in-store.

Stirred patriotism: Since it was the lead up to the nation's birthday, we knew nationalistic pride was at an all-time high. So we created a spot that featured a soldier bringing home the burger to his loved ones.

Created tension: We worked with media partners in SG and MY to troll each other and claim ownership of Nasi Lemak.

The campaign delivered the best-ever monthly and single-day burgers sales in McDonald's 40-year history in Singapore. It was such a phenomenal success that McDonald's actually uplifted the entire QSR category in Q3 2017! Consumers even had a petition via change.org to have Nasi Lemak Burger as a permanent item on the menu. Needless to say, the Nasi Lemak campaign more than adequately delivered on its KPIs:

KPI 1 target: +2% Comparative Sales vs 2016 campaign.

o Results: +6.3% in Comparative Sales against last year's sales.

KPI 2 target: +2% Guest Count (footfall) growth.

o Results: +4.3% Guest Count growth, 2.3% over target.

KPI 3: 700,000 total social engagements and $1mil in PR value.

" Results: 946,000 total social engagements (35% over the target) plus $2.1million in PR value (110% over the target). Plus around 130 pieces of coverage/food reviews and a reach of over 54 million people.