McDonald's UK is launching its "biggest ever" Christmas campaign tomorrow with a TV ad that features a wooden doll who comes to life after being left on the shelf for a year.
The campaign, created by the brand's long-standing UK creative agency Leo Burnett London, aims to celebrate the fast food giant being a dining favorite for weary Christmas shoppers, families and partygoers during the festive season.
The 90-second "Juliette the doll" spot features a vintage wooden doll, which is destined to spend another Christmas alone. Juliette cuts a lonely figure as she peers across the road from her toy shop abode at a McDonald's outlet, where diners are having a great time.
So desperate is Juliette to find companionship, she makes a break for it by escaping the shop and risking death by running across a busy road to reach the McDonald's.
Once there, she meets a handsome Meteor Mike doll and a happy ending is implied as the two are later seen being carried home in the same shopping bag.
The dolls featured in the ad were 3D printed and Juliette was brought to life through a mixture of puppetry and CGI. All of her facial details were painted by hand.
Philip Meyler and Darren Keff comprised the creative team at Leo Burnett. OMD UK handles McDonald's media in the UK. The spot was directed by Gary Freedman through Independent.
Juliette will be a prominent feature throughout the campaign and will appear in a followup 20-second ad for McDonald's Christmas menu, peering through a straw she uses as a telescope.
McDonald's is also launching a promotion. £10 Amazon gift cards will be up for grabs for customers using an augmented reality tray mat, which will can be used with the Blippar smartphone app to display a virtual advent calendar or a Santa sleigh game with instant win opportunities.
Emily Somers, vice president of food and marketing at McDonald's UK, said: "I am very proud of our contribution to the competitive Christmas advertising window, and delighted to bring our biggest ever campaign to life with Juliette and her adventure.
"The ad kick-starts an eight-week multichannel Christmas celebration which sees us use AV, out of home, digital and in-store advertising to bring the campaign to life and to deliver good times for our customers and employees this December."