Christmas is getting ‘Grinched’ at McDonald’s in a cross-channel campaign that sees the beloved festive saboteur completely take over. 

The campaign, created in collaboration with Leo UK, sees The Grinch derail McDonald’s festive plans and ‘sabotage’ Christmas with the launch of The Grinch Meal. 

Putting The Grinch at the forefront of the campaign, McDonald’s is embracing festive chaos to entertain audiences with some seasonal fun and nostalgia.

Spanning a range of media, the campaign is being launched with a tease phase across Organic Social, Out of Home and Audio Visual, showing a mysterious figure meddling with McDonald's. During the 16th November ‘I’m A Celebrity’ launch show, the Grinch appeared in a re-edited McDelivery spot. This was followed by a special build revealing The Grinch’s ‘Master Plan’, annotated with playful illustrations of the Grinch’s plans and Grinched’ McDonald’s menu items.

“We had grand plans for another feel-good Christmas campaign, designed to delight families across the nation. Then The Grinch showed up and showed us who is boss. Turns out, it’s not me. I can’t help but be delighted by the festive chaos this campaign brings,” explains Matt Reischauer, Marketing Director at McDonald’s UK & Ireland.

With December fast approaching, the campaign’s official launch phase is marked by ‘The Grinch’s mission’. Creative with The Grinch’s signature claw, handwriting and doodles customising festive menu items like the Grumble Pie will appear across OOH, DOOH and print to mark the character’s take over. 

The Grinch festive menu is set to roll out in stores, made up of a Grinch Meal including Grinch-themed odd socks and menu items such as a Grumble Pie, Mischief McFlurry and Frozen Grinch lemonade.

A special build Out of Home at Great Eastern St in London brings the meal to life, showing the Grinch knitting his life-size odd socks. While playful messaging such as “Grinched for adults”, “Disgustingly good” and “Grinch Approved", will be amplified across “Grinched” radio, in-restaurant and digital in-app promotions, where the Grinch is lowering prices and giving out daily deals to fans. 

The campaign also sees digital map takeovers across Uber and Citymapper feature map icons of The Grinch at local McDonald’s restaurants, while a social campaign is set to encourage fans to create their own mischief, with an interactive Snapchat filter that transforms users into The Grinch.

“From Grumble Pies and Grinched Fries to mis-matched odd socks, we’ve embraced the chaos and allowed The Grinch to put his furry green stamp firmly on our festive campaign, creating an interactive narrative for fans to immerse themselves in,” says Andrew Long, Executive Creative Director, Leo UK.

Media planning and buying was managed by OMD in the UK. PR, event and influencer management was handled by Red Consultancy. CRM was handled by TMW, whilst point of purchase communications were handled by Linney. TMS managed The Grinch licensor relationship and gift with purchase merchandise. 

Finding creative ways to ‘Grinch’ McDonald’s at each and every touchpoint, the all-encompassing festive campaign immerses audiences in the world of The Grinch to successfully build cultural Christmas hype.