The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2022–2024
McDonald's claims lookalike burgers in games — first Spikes 2024 Gaming Grand Prix
Leo Burnett Manila tells gamers to hunt the 'food-alikes' already inside games, tag #ThisIsMcDonalds, and get the real thing delivered free.
McDonald's Philippines · Leo Burnett Manila
What it had to solve
McDonald's needed to reach the 40M-strong Philippine gaming community on a limited budget, without coding into games or annoying players with ads.
How it works
In late 2022, McDonald's Philippines and Leo Burnett Manila noticed that video games are full of burgers, fries and sundaes that look exactly like McDonald's — even though none carry the logo. Instead of paying for in-game placements, they launched Unbranded Menu: an open challenge to the country's gamers to hunt these 'food-alikes', screengrab them, and tag them #ThisIsMcDonalds.
The hunt started when top gaming personality Alodia Gosiengfiao posted a Big Mac lookalike she found in GTA V, challenging her followers to find more. Streamers and everyday players joined in from games as different as The Last of Us, Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing. McDonald's social team answered every post in real time with bespoke art matching each screengrab, then delivered the real version of the virtual food free through McDelivery.
The results, confirmed by McDonald's CMO Oliver Rabatan and the WARC case study: 27 million gaming fans reached, brand mentions up 108%, engagement up 140%, and McDelivery sales up 35%. The campaign then became one of Asia's most decorated works, winning the Brand Experience Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2023, Cannes Lions metals, and in 2024 the first-ever Grand Prix in Spikes Asia's new Gaming category.
Why it lands
- Claimed a space where the brand already existed organically instead of buying or building one, so there was almost no paid media or game-integration cost.
- Built on the gamer habit of screenshotting and sharing, so every participant advertised for the brand.
- Rewarded each contribution with a real product, closing the loop between the virtual find and the physical order.
- Gamers saw a friend (influencer) issuing the challenge, not a brand hijacking their space.
What it did
27M gaming fans reached, +108% brand mentions, +140% brand engagement, +35% McDelivery sales — then a sweep of awards including the first-ever Gaming Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2024.
What you can take
Before paying to enter a world, check what of your brand already lives there for free. McDonald's menu was so iconic that game designers copied it — so this is a claim only it could file.
Since then
Unbranded Menu kept collecting trophies through 2024, including a Silver in Influencer & Co-creation and Bronze in Community Management at the same Spikes Asia where it took the Gaming Grand Prix. It became the reference point for how brands can enter gaming culture without licensing deals, and its 'find what's already there' logic was picked up by other brand-vs-game-world campaigns.
Sources
- How McDonald's Hijacked the Gaming Multiverse
- 麦当劳：无品牌菜单 (McDonald's: Unbranded Menu)
- Spikes Asia awards inaugural Gaming Grand Prix to 'Unbranded Menu'
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