REF: MF-01 · LÁMINA 02/07
Integrated Campaign · Brand ExperienceMcDONALD'S
McDonald's — Netflix IP · Final Season
REF: MF-01 · LÁMINA 02/07
Integrated Campaign · Brand ExperienceMcDonald's — Netflix IP · Final Season
01 — The Challenge
The brief was to define McDonald's role in the final battle of Stranger Things. Not just to be present in the cultural moment, but to earn a genuine place inside the story — one that felt true to both the brand and the series. That required finding the territory where their worlds didn't just overlap, but were actually the same.
Beyond the brand itself, we identified a key fan behaviour: Stranger Things audiences don't just watch the series — they want to live it. They look for ways to step inside the narrative, to be part of the story. The opportunity was to turn that desire into the campaign mechanic itself.
Strategic Intersection
McDonald's is built on a simple emotional truth: it's the place where friendships get stronger. The table, the meal, the ritual of being together — McDonald's is where those moments happen.
In Stranger Things, friendship is not a theme. It's the engine of the entire story — the force that holds the group together, that drives every sacrifice, that ultimately defeats the Upside Down.
McDonald's is the place in Hawkins where that feeling still exists — the one bubble of happiness that survives. Friendship was never a metaphor. It was the literal territory both worlds share.
02 — Stronger Together
"We turned friendship into the ultimate weapon for the final battle. We put fans inside the story — making them active participants in the battle for Hawkins, using connection as their armour and McDonald's as their base."
The campaign gave fans what they'd always wanted: a way in. Not as spectators of the final battle, but as fighters in it. McDonald's became both the place and the tools to help recover that lost bubble of happiness — positioning friendship as the force capable of restoring what the Upside Down had taken. The brand wasn't sponsoring the ending. It was helping win it.
03 — Phase 01: Train for the Battle
The first phase activated the campaign narrative: fans could train for the final battle using the characters from their McDonald's menu. An arcade-style game built around the McDonald's universe put the brand at the centre of preparation for Hawkins' last stand. The hero spot introduced the idea — establishing McDonald's as the brand that equips you for what's coming.
Hero Spot 45" — Phase 01: Train for the Battle
04 — Phase 02: Close the Rifts
The second phase took the battle into the real world. Rifts had opened across Spain — and fans had to close them. But to find them, they had to tune into a live broadcast that revealed the coordinates in real time, sending them to specific locations where the rifts had appeared. Once there, they could close the rift and unlock rewards. The campaign stopped being something fans watched and became something they did — together.
Spot — Phase 02: Close the Rifts
