Hi-C Orange Lavaburst was a beloved beverage of millions of McDonald’s fans throughout the 90s. Since it was removed from the menu in 2017, they’ve been lamenting its loss and crying out for its return on Twitter.

Our brief was to announce, organically, that the legendary soft drink would indeed, finally return to McDonald’s restaurants across the US, in a PR-worthy way. The objective was to drive awareness and encourage trial of the returning soft drink.

Instead of a top-down announcement from the suits at corporate, we reframed the news in a way that would empower McDonald’s/Hi-C fans from the bottom-up, and make them feel directly responsible for its return.

“Project Orange Lavaburst” would see the CM take up the mission to bring Hi-C to the people. Constantly on the receiving end of their pleas, the CM went to work creating a 90s-inspired pitch deck on Google Slides, to champion the cause and convince “The Boss" to delight fans by greenlighting the return of Hi-C Orange Lavaburst.

More than any other brand, McDonald's belongs to its community. That’s why our Community Manager continually goes to bat for them, especially when it comes to their favorite bygone menu items.

When we heard Hi-C would actually be returning, we wanted to pay off the persistence of those fans who’d been waiting for years, by bringing them closer, championing their will, and making them feel like THEY DID IT (after all, they did).

It started with a mysterious tweet containing a collaborative Google Slides link (a first for any brand) and asking fans for feedback. When they clicked, they were delighted to find a 90s-inspired parody pitch deck the CM had prepared to convince “The Boss” to bring Hi-C back to McDonald’s. The community was excited, and rallied together to show support before the “Big Meeting”.

Later that day, the CM “returned from their presentation” to tweet the good news: “The Boss” went for it, and the beloved beverage would return. Fans were overjoyed that their pleas had finally been heard, causing "Hi-C" to trend on Twitter. The McDonald's Community Manager was cemented as a champion of the people, representing a brand that always puts them first.

- 193K Mentions

- 21.5 million Impressions

- #3 Twitter trend

- $0 in media!