McDonald’s Shrek inspired kids worldwide to get active and have fun.Kids embarked on an immersive, online adventure that finished offline. Along the way, a McDonald’s message helped define responsible kids marketing: “Power Shrek through his world, while seeking out physical fun in your world”.The Shrek experience included custom animation commercials, daylong website takeovers, elaborate signage, new “ogre creations”, and a first-ever line up of Happy Meal toys customized to speak one of seven languages. Offline components drove to a one-of-a-kind online experience. Shrek and his friends took over mcdonalds.com with ogre-fun games, activities and exclusive content.

McDonald’s has a history of successfully partnering with licensees to offer special kids’ food promotions. However, recent changes in public attitudes toward eating fast food have led to negative brand perceptions. With customers becoming more health-conscious and quality focused in general, kids’ marketing has been especially scrutinized for possible negative consequences on their well-being. To answer to this challenge, McDonald’s partnered with 'Shrek The Third' to deliver an integrated program that ran in over 100 countries. From an elaborate retail experience to a McDonald’s-Shrek microsite encouraging physical activity for kids, the campaign promoted healthy lifestyles to encourage positive brand perceptions.

The McDonald’s 'Shrek The Third' first-ever packaging of a healthier Happy Meal bundle saw great results across the board, indicating that McDonald’s and Shrek helped kids and families make healthier choices. Sales of Apple Dippers increased by 37% (goal 5%). Sales of Milk increased by 21% (goal 5%). Sales of Happy Meal Units sold increased by 16% (goal 4%). Overall store sales increased by 8.7% (goal 5%).