Grandparents have surprised their grandkids with Happy Meals since 1979. But as they are a risk group, they can’t meet with their grandkids. This has proven to be a big issue regarding mental health amongst seniors. McDonald's wanted an event that showed that McDonald's delivery options, as well as their restaurants, are the number one choice for families even during unusual times.

To show that McDonald's is a family restaurant we had to come up with a Covid-19-safe experience for families. To make kids reconnect with their isolated grandparents during Covid-19 we reimagined the kids' all-time favorite meal - the Happy Meal. The iconic Happy Meal is usually for kids, but in unusual times we made it a surprise for seniors as well. By combining kids' love for their grandparents with their love to create, the new "Happy Meal Senior" became a memorable experience for all family members.

We gained publicity by tweaking something highly recognizable. The Happy Meal has always been the same. And it has never been given a new consumer group - ever. So just by giving the Happy Meal a new consumer group we reached earned publicity that we never could've dreamt of. And not only publicity - the initiative got visitors to buy extra meals for their loved ones, increasing sales.

We really wanted to engage children and families visiting the restaurant. And the most classic surprise a grandparent can get is a drawing or letter to put on the fridge.

We built a playhouse in the shape of the Happy Meal Box full of pens, papers, and other fun stuff for kids to use. We encouraged kids to create drawings, letters, or other creative gifts for their grandparents. Needless to say, kids visiting the restaurant was drawn to the big red and yellow house. They made everything from epic artwork to cute letters for their beloved grandparents.

For the weekend we had dedicated staff members guiding the customers through the process. The experience centered around the physical restaurant but as the Happy Meal Senior meals were delivered (free of charge) around the city, it became a heartwarming experience for the isolated senior citizens receiving the surprise meals as well. With the event, the iconic Happy Meal suddenly got an appreciated twin meal - The Happy Meal Senior.

- +400M unique impressions

- Over $3.500.000 in media

- In September, the magical 100,000 purchases were reached in one month, which broke the all time record of Happy Meal deliveries with McDelivery in a month.

- The campaign led to an increased market share during the campaign period.