A McDonald's campaign that's so playful and pleasing that you want to watch it again and again? This is not happening! This is not happening! I figured I'd be snug in my grave, providing a happy meal for worms, before I'd ever have to write a glowing review of this company's advertising. And yet here I am, impressed by the savvy approach New York shop Translation takes in its "Think with your mouth" videos for the Big Mac.
These eight short clips employ different styles of music and animation to great effect. They riff on enough familiar pop-culture themes and memes to delight, or at least intrigue, viewers of all ages, yet seem fresh and innovative in their own right.
In "Dreams," a Big Mac glides over canyons, perhaps through time and space, to hang out with chanting, disembodied heads high above planet Earth. "Mouthopia" finds the sandwich resting on a bucolic hill as birds chirp and coo and friendly dinosaur-creatures stop by for a visit. Mac's the guest of honor in "Mouth Soirée," as glitter flies, shiny balloons bounce and funky dance beats reverberate. "Instructions" is the simplest of all, advising us to put the Big Mac in our mouths as the camera lingers on the sandwich and a happy-happy bubble-gum-type chorus sings in the background. Those are my personal favorites, but all the clips are pretty satisfying.
A key to their success is the lack of overt "yum-yum" moments or calls to action. None are needed. This is the Big Mac, itself iconic, and placing the meaty mainstay at the center of such sensory hijinks is all the sales pitch you need.
Each spot can stand on its own—but they work best as a unit, viewed in no particular order. The overall impact is giddy, trippy, both retro and futuristic—as if the psychedelic journey in 2001: A Space Odyssey led not to the farthest reaches of the mysterious cosmos but to the local Mickey D's, where a tasty treat awaits. Damn you, McDonald's, I'm likin' it!