LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM— McDonald’s and Leo Burnett UK are flipping the script on traditional advertising with a bold new take on their ongoing platform, Breakfast, done properly. In a move that celebrates the pure cultural power of McDonald’s breakfast, the campaign drops logos, product names, and even the brand itself and trusts the food to do all the talking.
Why? Because McDonald’s breakfast is so instantly recognizable, it doesn’t need a single label to be understood. That’s not just a creative hunch as research by Savanta’s McVue confirms it. Up to 90% of consumers could correctly identify McDonald’s Breakfast items even without branding.
Bringing this to life, the campaign features a series of 30″ and 10″ films showcasing McDonald’s Breakfast in its purest, most irresistible form. Set to cinematic music, each film lingers on close-ups of the Sausage & Egg McMuffin, Hash Brown, Egg & Cheese McMuffin and Breakfast Wrap – capturing the distinctive shapes that make McDonald’s Breakfast so iconic. A voiceover explains how McDonald’s Breakfast needs no explanation without ever naming the products or the brand.
The campaign will roll out across TV, OOH, radio, paid social, press, and in-store activations, disrupting media channels with the iconicity of McDonald’s Breakfast.
Across OOH, the campaign takes a minimal yet bold approach, with large, macro images of McDonald’s Breakfast dominating large-scale placements.
Radio executions use evocative language to prompt listeners to picture the breakfast they already have stored deep in their subconscious. “Think of a breakfast muffin with sausage and egg. Yep, that’s the one,” the voiceover coaxes. “Picture it now. Doesn’t it look delicious?” Listeners will be invited to visualise breakfast before stopping short of saying its name or the name of the brand. Because, of course, just from that image in their mind, they already know exactly where it’s from.
Meanwhile, a disruptive social strategy will ensure McDonald’s Breakfast is front and centre on Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, with looping macro shots of its breakfast items punctuating social feeds and stories.
For those who need a morning nudge, the campaign will extend to in-store screens, Drive-Thru kiosks, and CRM push notifications, ensuring McDonald’s Breakfast is top of mind at the perfect moment.
Matthew Reischauer, Marketing Director, McDonald’s UK & IE, said: “McDonald’s Breakfast is a morning staple. This campaign is all about celebrating that built-in love, letting the food speak for itself, and reminding everyone why nothing else comes close.”
James Hodson & Jason Keet, Creative Directors, Leo Burnett UK, added: “There’s nothing on earth like a McDonald’s breakfast. You can spot a McMuffin from miles away. Think of a hash brown. We bet it’s a McDonald’s hash brown. So we thought our job was to just get out of the way. No logo. No product names. No catchy copy. Just the shapes and textures that we all know and love.”
Iconic needs no explanation launches nationwide from 24th March 2025, running for six weeks. Leo Burnett led strategy, creative, digital, and social; OMD UK managed media buying and planning; Linney supported all POP communications while TMW were responsible for CRM support.
CREDITS
Campaign Title: ‘Iconic Needs No Explanation’
Client: McDonald’s
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett
McDonald’s
Chief Marketing Officer: Ben Fox
Marketing Director: Matthew Reischauer
Head of Marketing – Food And Beverages: Ben Sherburn
Marketing Manager: Lucy Johnson
Senior Brand Manager: Josie Thompson-Green
Marketing Executive: Kai McHugh
Consumer Insights Manager: Siddhi Suchak
Leo Burnett
CCO: Mark Elwood
Executive Creative Directors: Andrew Long and James Millers
Creative Directors: Jason Keet and James Hodson
Creatives: Kerry Donnelly and Zoe Davies
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Planners: Ipeknaz Erel And Alexandra Arnold-Jones
Managing Partner: Layla Potter
Business Lead: Bella Bertolotti
Senior Account Director: Jessica Lyons
Senior Account Manager: Natasha Meisel
Account Executive: Zoe Buchalter
Senior Agency Producer: Jennifer Fewster
Media Buying Agency: OMD
Media Planners: Stephanie Holman, Holly Rosier, Reilly Sadowski-Synnott
AV + MACRO OOH Production Company: Darling Films
Director: Scott Grummett
Production Company Producer: Kelly Doyle
Executive Producer: Clare Timms
Production Manager: Michaela Miesen
Director Of Photography: Tim Green
Editor: Adam Rudd, Whitehouse Post
Editor Producer: Annabel Bennett
Audio Post-Production Company: Harbor
Sound Design & Mix: George Castle
Audio Producer: Hannah Jarrold & Savannah King
Post-Production Company: Black Kite Studios
VFX Lead: Marcus Moffatt
Grade: George Kyriacou
Post Production Producer: Hazel Gibson
Music Track Finder: Native Music
Clearance: Sharpa
VI OOH SHOOT
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Project Manager: Adrienne Lindeque
Photographer: Tina Hillar
Rep Agency: Crxss Agency
Agent / Producer: Elena Huntley
1st Assistant: Seán Donnellan
Digital Operator: Lewis Bench
DOP: Simon Paul
Focus Puller: Bernin Isaac
DIT: Ewan Macfarlan
Food Stylist: Udo Reichelt-Schaurer
Food Stylist Assistant: Olha Diachenko
PDG Producer: Farah Ikhlas
MACRO OOH SHOOT
Design Director: Phil Bosher
Designer: Georgia Glen
Project Manager: Adrienne Lindeque
Photographer: Scott Grummett
Production: Bailey Wade / Darling Films / Prodigious
Food Stylist: Udo Reichlet-Schaurer
Food Stylist Asst: Olha Diachenko
Digi OP: Ben Colson
Spark: Rob Stewart
Lighting Assist: Sam Dearden
