McDonald's food, known for its convenient packaging, has always made it easy to enjoy a bite anytime, anywhere. Interestingly, this convenience has sparked an unexpected trend among our fans: sneaking McDonald's into places where outside food is prohibited. Aware of this cheeky behaviour, we decided to encourage more of it in creative and engaging ways, aiming to deepen our connection with fans and build brand love.

By recognizing and embracing this unique fan habit, we turned what could be seen as cheeky rebelliousness into a fun, shared experience that resonates with our customers' perchant for mischief. This campaign not only acknowledges our fans' cleverness but also invites them to enjoy their favorite meals in fun, new contexts, further strengthening their love for the brand.

Sneaking food into places where it's prohibited is just what people do. Everyone does it, but nobody talks about it. And McDonald's happens to be the top choice for sneaking in Hong Kong. In the end, it all boils down to one universal truth: eating what you love while doing what you love.

We ran a campaign to encourage this cheeky behavior by placing a series of print ads and sending geo-targeted notifications in the vicinity of cinemas, libraries, and train stations. Many people became good that we took the campaign to the next level with a promotion: a sneak heist in the sky!

Simply show your boarding pass at our airport store, receive a free Apple Pie, and sneak it onboard the plane. Then, prove it by posting on social media and get a sweet e-coupon to redeem at our stores when you return.

To celebrate this cheeky fan behaviour while encouraging more people to join in on the fun, we targeted venues that have always been hot spots for Sneaking Joy – cinemas, libraries, museums – basically every place known to prohibits outside food.

Knowing that outbound travel is on everyone’s mind at Hong Kong’s year-end holidays, we raised the stakes further to invite everyone to smuggle a free apple pie onboard a flight that prohibits outside food from our McDonald’s Airport store.

To kick off the campaign, we launched cheeky print ads and geo-targeted notifications that activate when McDonald’s app users are near cinemas, libraries, and museums, encouraging them to sneak joy into these venues. Leveraging influencers, we turned Sneak Joy into a trending topic.

For the grand finale at our airport store, we capitalized on the year-end travel rush by inviting fans to join the Sneak Joy shenanigans in the sky. They simply showed their boarding pass, received a free Apple Pie, and came up with their own ways to sneak it onboard their flight with other McDonald’s purchases.

To sweeten the deal, we offered a free e-coupon for to redeem upon their return to Hong Kong when they shared their heists on social media.

Our campaign did more than just turn heads; the prints sparked lively conversations and set the stage for our airport Sneak Joy activation. Here’s what happened: fans playfully smuggled a free Apple pie from our McDonald’s airport store onto their flights, cleverly bypassing the no-outside-food rules. The response was incredible, boosting our social media engagement by a whopping +273%.

Sneak Joy quickly became a hot topic and delivered impressive results. The campaign generated HKD $10 million in earned media coverage, while sales at McDonald’s Hong Kong’s airport store jumped by 20% during the campaign period.

These achievements underscore the impact of our campaign. Our print ads were more than just advertisements; they acted as conversation starters and effective sales drivers, proving to be a delightful twist in engaging customers and enhancing sales.