The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025
McDonald's Taiwan turns fry-stealing into 'Kung Fries' — Spikes 2026 Grand Prix
Leo Taiwan and Golden Horse-winning choreographer Scott Hung invent five kung-fu moves for protecting fries, told as a 3:16 film — fries business up 37%.
McDonald's Taiwan · Leo Taiwan
What it had to solve
McDonald's fries are the most-loved menu item and 'don't touch my fries' is a universal joke; in Taiwan, kung fu is an iconic cultural art that was losing its pull with Gen Z. McDonald's Taiwan wanted a cinematic long-form idea that made fries unforgettable.
How it works
Kung Fries began with a fan truth almost everyone recognises: McDonald's fries are so good that people steal them, and the owner instinctively fights back. In Taiwan the same audience was drifting away from kung fu, an art the country deeply respects but which had lost its grip on Gen Z. Leo Taiwan's idea was to fuse the two into a new martial art purpose-built for defending fries.
The campaign was treated like a blockbuster: a 3:16 film directed by Leo Wang, choreographed by Golden Horse Award-winning action master Scott Hung (his first commercial), and starring Man-Si Ho, a dancer who trained for months to sell five defensive moves — Hold Your Horses, Soft as a Breeze Strong as a Storm, Divine Finger Flick, Buddha's Palm of Fries and Now You See It, Now You Don't. It launched with a teaser trailer in cinemas, movie-style posters and OOH, then five tutorial videos, tray-mat lessons turning restaurants into training dojos, and a 24-karat golden fry as a prize.
The numbers followed the theatre: fries business rose 37% during the campaign, the hero film passed 875,000 YouTube views within a week and generated over 4 million views with 8.5 million reach in three weeks, and more than 6,600 people joined the social activations. In March 2026 the campaign won the Integrated Grand Prix at Spikes Asia.
Why it lands
- It turned a trivial everyday annoyance — stolen fries — into an epic, cinematic premise that everyone instantly recognises, making the brand the hero of a shared joke.
- Real craft gave the comedy weight: a Golden Horse-winning choreographer, months of actor training and authentic kung-fu moves made it a tribute to the art, not a cheap parody.
- The movie-style launch (teaser, posters, OOH, dojos, golden-fry prize) made one film into an integrated world across cinema, stores and social.
- It revived a fading cultural art for Gen Z while selling the brand's most-loved product, so the idea worked as entertainment and as commerce at once.
What it did
Fries business rose 37% during the campaign; the film passed 875,000 YouTube views within a week and reached 4M+ views and 8.5M people in three weeks; 6,600+ people joined social activations; the work won the Spikes Asia 2026 Integrated Grand Prix.
What you can take
Escalate a tiny universal annoyance into a cultural spectacle: 'someone stole my fry' became a choreographed martial art, and real craft made the joke feel like a tribute.
Since then
Kung Fries became McDonald's Taiwan's flagship 'blockbuster' of 2025 and capped its award run with the Integrated Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026. The campaign drew wide international coverage, drove a 37% lift in fries business during the period, and was cited by Publicis Groupe as part of the APAC creative portfolio alongside Malaysia's Fan Fries Meal, Korea's Local-Nomy Burgers and the Philippines' Night Classroom. McDonald's Taiwan said it would keep running one cinematic long-form idea per year, renewing it annually to avoid consumer fatigue.
Sources
- CMO Cindy Lin on why McDonald's Taiwan is using Kung Fu to protect its fries
- McDonald's Taiwan fights for your fries with new kung fu ad
- Making of 'Kung Fries': Viral McDonald's Taiwan Tribute to Fans and Tradition
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