VML Takes First Place In Creative Showcase For McDonald’s Loaded Campaign

Digital marketing agency VML has taken the top honors in IAB’s Creative Showcase Round 10.4 for its Loaded campaign for McDonald’s Australia launch of its Loaded Fries. Second place was awarded to Digital Arts Network for its Krispy Kreme campaign, and second runner up went to Southern Cross Austereo for its work for EA Games.

“This month’s winners heavily feature fan involvement, creating engagement with the brand through social media to direct the content and outcomes of the campaign. They provide an interesting set of case studies showing how brands are using social media, technology and great ideas to connect with consumers and get across their message,” said Mike Zeederberg, creative showcase chair of judges and managing director of Zuni.

VML was charged with promoting the launch of the new take on McDonald’s iconic French fries, with objectives that included increasing awareness by 40 percent. The agency conceived “Loaded: The Movie”, presented over five episodes on Facebook. As the episodes were released, fans were asked to help shape the story and develop the plot twists. The best entries were written into the script, edited and released in the next episode.

Nearly 3.5 million Facebook fans contributed to the film, which helped drive an earned reach of 5.2 million and paid reach of 6.4 million. Awareness of Loaded Fries reached 79 percent by week three, double the awareness the company was tasked with driving. The movie was also shown as an eight-minute branded piece at the TropFest short film festival in Sydney.

Creative Showcase judge Sandor Moldan of Razorfish said that the VML campaign was unusual for the McDonald’s brand, but considering the broader ‘How very un-McDonalds’ messaging in which the company is engaged, it was the exact territory that needed to be explored.

“The solution was charming and hilariously off-beat,” said Moldan.

Second place was awarded to Digital Arts Network who, in partnership with Eleven Inc., transformed a box of donuts into a jukebox of donuts to promote Krispy Kreme’s new range of American Classics. Krispy Kreme teamed up with Spotify to develop original tailored playlists in the theme of American classics from the 1950s. To hear the playlists a customer opens the box, enters the URL displayed on the inside into their phone, connects their phone to built-in speaker, chooses a playlist and starts “jiving and twisting.”

The third-place entry from Southern Cross Austereo saw National Hit 30 host Angus O’Loughlin bring EA Games new Sims 4 game to life as the voice and face of the campaign along with high-profile gamer Deligracy and Havas Media for the You Create campaign. An event was held at Western Sydney University where a real-life Sim’s environment was created. The power was in the hands of the 2DayFM social community who were able to control Angus as their very own Sim for the chance to win prizes, with over 112,000 people participating live with many more watching after it was live. A 298% return on investment was delivered throughout the campaign and more than 350,000 fans via Facebook Live were reached with the tailored content delivered on the platform.

The IAB Creative Showcase competition series accepts entries for digital work completed in the three months prior to close of judging for each round and only one campaign per agency is allowed. The winning entries are showcased https:/www.iabaustralia.com.au/creative-awards/creative-showcase.

Creative Showcase 10.4 Winners

First place
Creative agency: VML
Brand name: McDonald’s

Second place
Creative agency: Digital Arts Network
Brand name: Krispy Kreme

Third place
Creative agency: Southern Cross Austereo
Brand name: EA Games

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