In 2018 the world-famous Big Mac marked its 50th birthday. The brief was to celebrate everything about the burger that made it so iconic and remind people just how much of part of their lives it’s been. This would be a nationwide integrated campaign, running for a period of 10 weeks.

Tapping into half a century of nostalgia for the beloved sandwich, original but now archived Big Mac packaging spanning five decades was sourced from archivists and enthusiasts then meticulously photographed. Each photograph showing only the minimum number of elements required to be recognisable.

People were able to identify the Big Mac packaging, without showing them the words ‘Big Mac’ or the McDonald’s logo in its entirety. Proving the Big Mac’s status as a pop-culture icon.

Rather than simply creating digital renders of old Big Mac boxes, we went to great lengths to source real packaging. Some of the packaging was loaned from the McDonald’s archive, while others had to be purchased from the private collections of McDonald’s enthusiasts.

This was a particularly significant design decision, as photographing the original boxes meant we could capture the spirit and the character of packaging that was, in some instances, nearly half a century old. Subtle creases, blemishes and imperfections adding to the nostalgia and personality.

The packaging was then meticulously photographed so that each poster would show off only the minimum number of elements required to be recognisable. Key to the impact was having people identify the Big Mac packaging, without showing them the words ‘Big Mac’ or the McDonald’s logo in its entirety. Proving the Big Mac’s status as a pop-culture icon.