MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Leo Burnett Manila has snatched a Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2023, making it the only Philippine agency to win the major award this year. It won the prestigious award under the Brand Experience category for its clever campaign, entitled “Unbranded Menu,” for QSR giant McDonald’s Philippines. This win is testament to the agency’s creativity, innovation, and ability to deliver effective campaigns that thoroughly engage its audience.
“Unbranded Menu,” which also notably won the Grand Kidlat at the 15th Kidlat Awards, saw Leo Burnett Manila and McDonald’s hijack the gaming multiverse as part of the campaign. The brand presented an open invitation to gamers to look for its “food-alikes” and then trade their inedible finds for genuine McDonald’s goods.
It all began when Alodia Gosiengfiao, the most well-known video game personality in the Philippines, discovered an object resembling a Big Mac in Grand Theft Auto V and posted a screenshot of it online. She then urged her eight million fans to conduct their own searches.
McDonald’s meals, gaming credits, consoles, and other gaming gear were distributed as fuel for the quest.
Raoul Panes, Chief Creative Officer of Publicis Groupe Philippines and Leo Burnett Group Manila, shared, “We are thankful for the various recognition from Spikes for ‘Unbranded Menu.’ As we say, this is an idea that’s been hiding in plain sight, and our multidisciplinary team worked diligently for more than a year to bring it to life. Along the way, we learned even more about the gaming multiverse. We’re lucky to have brave clients who bought into it and worked with us to make the campaign succeed. Our wins at Kidlat and now Spikes tell us we created something extraordinary for the brand.”
Oliver Rabatan, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s Philippines, said, “McDonald’s has long identified gamers as an important segment of our target market. Leo Burnett’s Unbranded Menu campaign is a highly inventive way to further engage them without any sponsorship fees. With the brand’s iconic menu items embedded in so many video games, this campaign was a natural fit for us. We continue to find ways to collaborate on creative campaigns with our agencies and this is a great example. It truly deserves global recognition!”
McDonald’s and Leo Burnett Manila hijack food items in video games with ‘The Unbranded Menu’
