McDonald's sought to connect with gaming audiences by integrating its iconic Quarter Pounder with Cheese into gaming culture. The campaign transformed product discovery into an interactive challenge, inviting players to find hidden Quarter Pounders across games and participate for the chance to win exclusive creator experiences.
As one of the leading creatives, I directed the campaign vision from early ideation through pitch development, crafting an experience that aligned McDonald's brand goals with gaming culture. I defined the participation mechanics, creator integrations, and cross-channel strategy, building an activation that connected livestreams, digital experiences, and social engagement into a cohesive campaign.
Challenge
Traditional product marketing often struggles to resonate authentically with gaming communities. The challenge was to create an activation that felt participatory and culturally relevant while driving awareness and affinity for the Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Strategy
Rather than interrupt gaming experiences, we embedded the brand directly into gameplay behaviors. Through livestream integrations, a custom microsite, and creator-led participation, the campaign encouraged audiences to actively engage with the product through discovery, competition, and community.
Creative Solution
• Designed an interactive gaming challenge centered on product discovery
• Integrated creators and livestreams to drive participation and engagement
• Developed custom digital experiences to extend campaign interaction
• Built social extensions that amplified gameplay moments beyond the stream
• Created a rewards-driven mechanic that encouraged community participation
• Integrated creators and livestreams to drive participation and engagement
• Developed custom digital experiences to extend campaign interaction
• Built social extensions that amplified gameplay moments beyond the stream
• Created a rewards-driven mechanic that encouraged community participation
Result
The activation brought McDonald's into gaming environments in a way that felt native to audience behaviors, leveraging creators, gameplay, and community participation to extend engagement beyond traditional media placements. The campaign showcased the potential of interactive experiences to drive brand visibility across gaming ecosystems.