It is the most unexpected ad from McDonald’s

It shows us the power of a child’s imagination, and not clips of burgers and French fries.

It is not every day that you come across an ad from a fast food brand, like McDonald’s, that doesn’t feature its legendary mascot Ronald McDonald, or one of its trademark burgers or French fries.

Here’s an ad from McDonald’s France that does not feature any food item from its menu. Neither is there any mention, or reference to anything edible.

We are, instead, treated to the delightful journey of a young girl’s imagination: She’s on her bed that floats on a river and soon she’s joined by another lady (mother?)… As they sail forward, we’re treated to stunning locations only seen in glossy travel magazines, intimidating water currents, thunder, fish, a submarine’s periscope and also a teddy bear.

Called ‘Livres’, which is French for books, the ad is about the power of young kids’ imagination. But, what’s this got to do with McDonald’s? Turns out that the fast food giant in France offers kids the choice between a book and a toy in its ‘Happy Meal’ menus.

Thus, the tag at the end read, ‘Sharing a story is like sharing an adventure.’ It is followed with ‘60 million stories have already been shared in the Happy Meal.’

TBWA/Paris is behind this ad. Last year (2019), the agency released a touching ad about the relationship children have built with the ‘Red Happy Meal Box’. Called ‘Childhood in Inside’, it features a young boy who collect objects, like confetti, soap bubbles, laughter, kisses, chipped paint, etc., so that he could share them with his grandmother later.