Our agency attacked the problem of “my piece never wins” by encouraging people to take home their loser pieces and play them again, at home. This was a bold step. Some of our people worried that online play might give customers less reason to play in-store, but we took the risk. Consumers went to our online “Second Chance” Monopoly game and typed in a small, unique identifying code from each game piece. The online game had its own pool of prizes, including the prize everybody wants—cash. To emphasize the money, our 3D gameboard design was surrounded by a green-themed “vault.”

•McDonald’s customers entered 26 million codes online—the most plays ever for any restaurant game.•And sales went up, not down, in the store. In fact, they went up 6% compared to 2005—proof that our gamble paid off.