Team Farner stages creator campaign for McDonald's «World Menu Heist»

A mysterious yellow container is loaded onto a train. As it rolls through Switzerland, pictures and videos are piling up on social media. What is this transport all about? Behind this staging is the international McDonald's «World Menu Heist» campaign: symbolically stolen iconic products from various countries are presented under the claim «Most wanted. Limited time only.» to new markets. Switzerland marked the start of the Europe-wide roll-out.

Creator-led storytelling for hype and engagement

For McDonald's Switzerland, the task was to build hype, entertainment and conversation dynamics even before the official launch - especially among GenZ. To achieve this, Team Farner relied on a social first story mechanic with creator-driven storytelling and active community interaction. At the center of the story was a group of creators who track down the master thieves and the transport of the stolen products. The campaign was deliberately structured in several waves of content - from the first rumors and sightings to the joint search for clues and the resolution.

The creators deliberately implemented the story in their own style within the given framework. They followed suspicious transports, combined clues and actively interacted with their community, creating additional hype and discussions. Ongoing updates on the train journey and new clues brought the story to life on social media over several days.

Showdown in Zurich

The physical finale was the culmination of the story that had previously been built up digitally. Team Farner brought the creators, the community and the new products together at a secret location. A truck specially branded for the campaign arrived and seamlessly continued the staging in the physical space.

More than 500 people from the community were on site and were able to test the products from all over the world before the official launch. Promoters staged as «thieves» handed them out directly to those present.

Content as a driver of visibility

Content production was a key success factor for the campaign. Team Farner deliberately developed the content from three perspectives in order to bring the creative guiding principle of Social First to life: from the perspective of the creators and the public - with UGC-related sightings, reactions and personal updates -, from the perspective of the «thieves» - with staged content on McDonald's channels - as well as with high-quality hero content about trains and containers in the Swiss landscape, including professional photo, video and drone shots.

Editorial coverage by 20 Minuten, including a live ticker on site, ensured even greater visibility. After the showdown, Creators and McDonald's extended the story beyond the official launch with individual recap reels and accompanying product content.

From the international idea to local staging

The starting point was the international lead idea from Leo Burnett London, while TBWA was responsible for the creative implementation of the product campaign and OMD for the media extension. Team Farner took on the communicative translation for the Swiss market. This turned an international product idea into a locally connectable campaign that combines digital community activation, media visibility and a physical experience.

Responsible at McDonald's: Morgane Zillweger (Senior Marketing Consultant), Jae Ah Kim (Head of Impact). Responsible at Farner: Nina Krucker (Client Lead), Toby Felder (Strategy), Andreas Rageth (Influencer Marketing), Susanne Bader (Live Communication). Responsible at Jim & Jim: Robin Steiner (overall management and consulting), Sarah Handschin (project management & production management), Chiara Hess (concept), Nico Drechsel (camera), Aaron Streicher (camera), Erika Gritzfeld (co-management & post-production).