In a category cluttered with traditional advertising, McDonald’s ‘The Untranslated Ad’ designed an experience that intercepted the world of young people primarily on digital platforms who are fans of all things Japan - culture, food and lifestyle. Hence, we collaborated with an Indonesian-Japanese singer Icha Zahara, creating pop music history with just a product jingle. People ended up immersing themselves in a camouflaged McDonald's ad unknowingly.

Surpassing expectations with +111% sales impact, 3MN+ views in a week, ranked the Artist’s #1 top Spotify song, delivering on both experiential and business KPI.

McDonald’s faced strong brand competition from KFC, which gained spontaneous awareness and became top-of-mind in Q1 2022. To stay ahead, McDonald's needed to be perceived as an innovative brand with exciting flavors to maintain its lead against KFC in QSR brand visits (87 McD vs. 79 KFC).

Every year, McDonald's 'Taste of Japan' menu offers local flavors with a unique twist.

With its previous appearances, the menu had already garnered significant attention, as people eagerly requested its return on social media. We had wider ambitions and wanted to attract newer Japanese enthusiasts beyond old loyalists to recruit new enthusiasts to our repertoire.

Marketing Objective:

- Increase Sales of Taste of Japan' menu edition vs previous launch

Business Objective :

- Induce trial across all 'Taste of Japan' menu to attract audience to buy

Communication Objective :

- Create engagement through intrigue and intercepting relevant interests of the audience

As we focused on widening our approach for the ‘Taste of Japan’ menu for this year, we aimed at recruiting fast food lovers who love experimenting and trying new things, especially when it comes to Japanese and fusion food. People that are fans of Japanese culture and want to experience aspects that resonate with them such as food, music, Cosplay, Anime and Manga. They want to not only explore but also feel a sense of belonging when they meet with other people who share their love for Japanese cultural elements too.

We wanted to capture the attention and love of everyone who fell on the spectrum of wanting to try innovative Japanese food – From the Weeaboo community, anime lovers to the dabblers

However, though Indonesia has a huge fascination with Japanese culture, from music, anime to fashion but the intriguing part is, not everyone understands it

But they love it anyway!

They wear T-shirts with Kanji, they listen to music without knowing its meaning and they love Anime characters despite not knowing what they say.

‘McDonald’s The Untranslated Ad’: A camouflaged advertisement where people unknowingly fell for a hard-selling product jingle thinking it’s a Japanese song.

A new hyped Japanese song by Ica Zahra, an Indonesian- Japanese singer the Winner of Nippon Television Nodojiman The World 2015. We tapped into her popularity and her followers to engage with our jingle, until finally, we revealed that it’s actually an advertisement for McDonald's 'Taste of Japan'. The audience was excited and fell in love with it.

After revealing the ad, we let the people know that “You don’t need to understand it, what matters is that #You Know It’s Good!”

As part of our annual "Taste of Japan" menu, McDonald's sought to bring freshness to the familiar by introducing new elements. The menu, already a social media sensation, posed a challenge amid fierce competition in the QSR sector. We had wider ambitions and wanted to attract newer Japanese enthusiasts beyond old loyalists to recruit new enthusiasts to our repertoire. We targeted not only loyalists but also new Japanese enthusiasts, particularly those passionate about Japanese culture, embracing aspects like food, music, Cosplay, Anime, and Manga.

In a departure from traditional advertising, we launched an unbranded music video featuring a renowned singer Ica Zahara, disguising it as an original song on music platforms. The strategy captivated diverse audiences, from Weeaboo communities to anime lovers and even dabblers, creating organic popularity. And later when McDonald's revealed that it’s actually a 'Taste of Japan' ad through subtitles gave the loved campaign a second life.

McDonald’s brought a Japanese experience to Indonesia albeit with a McDonald’s ‘Feel Good’ twist.

Collaborating with an Indonesian-Japanese singer Icha Zahara, we created pop music history with just a product jingle. People ended up immersing themselves in a camouflaged McDonald's ad unknowingly. With a catchy McDonald’s ad, we seamlessly inserted ourselves in the world of Japanese culture enthusiasts through the most universal medium i.e. music.

As a pre-launch for McDonald's Japanese burger, we released a jingle entirely in Japanese, without subtitles, disguising it as a beloved J-pop song. "Nihon no Fureebaa", which depicted our ‘Taste of Japan’ menu. Strategically releasing the track on YouTube, Spotify, Shazam and Radio platforms, we built excitement and anticipation among the audience.

As the product launch approached, we revealed the song's subtitles, exposing its true purpose—a hard-selling jingle for the ‘Taste of Japan’ menu. This innovative and unexpected launch was a memorable success.

Collaborating with an Indonesian singer/content creator and launching the disguised Japanese pop ad on YouTube generated excitement and surprise. Offering something expected in an unexpected way resonated with the audience, strengthening the connection with the younger demographic and maintaining a competitive edge against rivals like KFC and BK. By capturing the target audience's attention, it solidified McDonald's position in the market as a brand that understands and caters to its audience's desires.

Marketing Objective:

+111% Sales impact

Business Objective :

- Increase 10% Trial

Communication Objective :

3M+ Views in a week (YouTube), 179 M+ Total Impressions

Shaazam #1 most searched song. Artist's #1 top Spotify. USD 900k+ earned media.