Advertising becomes a game: C Wire and OMD Switzerland launch interactive format for McDonald's

The new Spicy McCrispy from McDonald's is not only a culinary highlight, but also the star of an innovative advertising campaign. To raise awareness of the fiery burger in Switzerland, the ad tech start-up C Wire and the media agency OMD Switzerland developed an interactive, game-based advertising format that was played out on the leading Swiss news websites.

The idea behind the innovative campaign: users should discover the new burger in a playful way. At the heart of the advertising format is the click game "Grab the chili!": To find out more about the Spicy McCrispy, users have to click on the chili pepper at lightning speed between different types of vegetables.

Playfully attracting more attention and interaction

The campaign, inspired by the gaming world, ran on Switzerland's best-known news platforms and met with a great response from readers. The interactive advertising format showed significant success and impressive KPIs that prove the positive impact of the campaign: With a share of screen of 90%, a very high level of attention was achieved, while the engagement rate measured by games started was 1,36%. Users actively engaged with the advertising message for an average of 10 seconds. Brand Metrics also determined a brand lift of 11% in terms of awareness of Spicy McCrispy.

Alexander Schmitt, Managing Director OMD Switzerland, is enthusiastic: "Thanks to C Wire's gamified advertising and AI-optimized environment planning, we are addressing our target group in a personal and attention-grabbing way. This is unique and works without cookies."

Brand safety and precise playout thanks to AI matching

Contextual AI matching ensures that the campaign is only integrated into relevant articles that match the brand. This leads to increased attention, engagement and landing page KPIs. Martin Garling, Managing Director at C Wire, explains further: "We do not deliver in a negative news environment. We stand for maximum brand safety." Thanks to C Wire's characteristic cookieless delivery, the creative is played out on a large scale and with a wide reach, regardless of the user's cookie and browser preferences, and only on Swiss premium websites. Another advantage of the format: gamification campaigns promote interaction with users, stand out from the advertising monotony and are memorable. "Gamified advertising campaigns are particularly suitable over the summer with the European Football Championships, the Olympic Games and numerous festivals," says Garling