With the launch of the McCrispy® in autumn 2023, McDonald’s Germany had to introduce a completely new product segment. The main challenge was to convince Germans that burgers don’t always need beef patties. And that a chicken burger can be spectacular and hype-worthy. The launch of the new McCrispy® marked a crucial step for McDonald’s Germany in becoming as famous for chicken as we are for beef burgers.

The goals:

- Business KPI: Increase chicken market share

- Marketing KPI: Create awareness and curiosity so that people want to try the new McCrispy®

- Communication KPI: Cut through the clutter and kick-start Germany’s first ever chicken sandwich hype.

Luckily, the McCrispy® had an unmistakable USP: Its crispy coating created a loud crunch, whenever you took a bite. It was McDonald’s loudest burger yet.

With the insight of “loudest burger” we stumbled over a striking cultural tension: peace and quiet are of great importance to Germans. It’s deeply rooted in German culture and reflected in the strictest and most extensive noise-regulation worldwide.

So, to highlight the loud crunchiness of the new product, McDonald’s Germany began a campaign around a culturally driven brand stunt:

Banning all McCrispy® sales from 10 pm to 6 am in over 1,400 branches, all over Germany.

To make this happen required convincing hundreds of franchisees, training thousands of crew members and reprogramming both the instore sales software both instore and the McDonald’s app.

Proving to cautious Germans that a chicken burger not only was worth trying, but also worth celebrating, required a loud idea that could entice them to rethink their fast-food preferences. By focusing on the “loudest burger” USP, the goal was to create an all-inclusive campaign that would establish the new platform:

So loud, so good: The new McCrispy® is a burger you can’t ignore.

But to create the connection in customers’ heads between a loud burger and the German quiet hours, required an objective observation. That is why, Together with Civey, one of Germany’s most respected research institutes, McDonald’s conducted the McCrispy® Ruhezeiten Index. The goal: identify and publish the country’s most noise-sensitive citys. Our winner – the Hanseatic city of Rostock.

The campaign was structured in three phases:

First a teaser phase starting in Germany’s most noise-sensitive city Rostock. Germany’s most famous influencers then prepared the silence-loving citizens for the McCrispy® launch on TikTok and Instagram.

After one week, the stunt phase began with a full-blown 360° media campaign with McDonald’s self-imposed sales ban for the new McCrispy® at its core. OOH billboards at Germany’s loudest places with location-specific headlines. And of course: very loud radio spots and social media content.

In the restaurants live countdowns took over the menu boards – asking customers to place their last McCrispy® order before finally turning grey and non-clickable.

Finally, the resolution phase: After 2 weeks the Ruhezeiten sales ban was officially lifted by appealing to the guests’ personal responsibility. All prohibition signs disappeared from all advertising materials.

The campaign was a bold, unprecedented coup for the German market. The TVC built up tension and even more curiosity. Germans wanted to know: Could a burger really be so crispy that it warranted a sales ban?

The quiet hours stunt became talk of town on social media with many fans reacting not only to the news but also the stunt itself. On TikTok alone the campaign garnered 800,000 earned interactions and 24,850,000 earned views.

And after discussing it, people wanted to see for themselves how loud the McCrispy® could be, reaching an awareness rate of 72% and a 34% trial rate among McDonald’s customers. McCrispy® sales were 52% over projection, turning this campaign into an economic success as well.

A very rewarding first step in McDonald’s becoming as famous for chicken as we are for beef.