Qualitative research data showed that our audience had fond memories of the past, and, by association, their relationship with McDonald’s. It also revealed another important insight: that they used these memories as a mental escape, when things in the present became a little too uncertain.

And the summer of 2016 was turning out to be quite an uncertain time. So we decided to harness the positive power of the past, by revisiting our rich local heritage and bringing back some of the flair of the “good old days”.

Our idea: The McDonald’s Time Machine

We didn't just want to bring back positive associations, we wanted to almost literally turn back time. Through a four-day campaign, we recreated McDonald’s adverts from the past that aimed to inspire feelings of shared nostalgia across Hong Kong.

We started off with classic 4:3 TV spots that reminded people of times long before 16:9, HD and 4K. Retro print ads then made newspapers and magazines look like they came from library archives. Crackling radio ads had people hit their devices like they used to in the old days, and outdoor posters stood out with a charmingly faded look and feel.

Then, we partnered with key influencers and other third party publications to turn social media into an online archive of past TVCs.

Last but not least, we hosted retro birthday parties, served the classic hamburger meal at its 90’s childhood price of HKD 4.8, and also launched a McDonald’s toy show, bringing back all of Hong Kong’s favourite collectibles.

Objective 01: Trust - Increase Young Adults’ trust scores by 5% vs. the pre-campaign period.

• Result: Our campaign helped increase trust scores by an impressive 20%, 15 percentage points above the initially set target.

Objective 02: Loyalty - Lift Young Adults’ brand loyalty scores by 5% vs. the pre-campaign period.

• Result: The McDonald’s Time Machine lifted loyalty scores amongst our target audience by 5%, meeting our objective.

Objective 03: Favourite IEO - Improve McDonald’s rating of being Young Adults’ most favourite IEO Restaurant by 5%.

• Result: We managed to improve Favourite IEO scores by 12%, overachieving the objective by 7 percentage points.

Our campaign also generated a lot of lovin’ amongst our audience online. Young Adults from across the city couldn't stop talking about the campaign and the memories it brought back, which in the end increased brand interactions and social conversation volumes by 91.8% and 19.1%, respectively.