Title	GRAND MCEXTREM TOPCHEF
Brand	McDONALD'S
Product/Service	GRAND MCEXTREM
Category	A08. Use of Branded Content & Sponsorship
Advertising Agency	TBWA\ESPAÑA Madrid, SPAIN
Media Agency	OMD SPAIN Madrid, SPAIN
Entrant Company	OMD SPAIN Madrid, SPAIN

Name	Company	Position
Alejandra Gálvez	Omd	Account Director
José María De Diego	Omd	Creative Media Project Manager
Irene Ruiz De Gauna	Omd	Media Planner
Rocio Velez Díaz-pallarés	Omd	Media Planner

Brief Explanation

The challenge was to reverse the negative trend in sales and recover the perception of quality, innovation and trust that McDonald's had lost because of the "1€ battle” in the category. Spanish restaurants and chefs are being recognised worldwide, creating a socio-cultural event that has transcended to every screen with gastronomic reality shows and users posting food images on every social network. This has led them to a gastro-existential dilemma, where users would like to enjoy a haute cuisine experience, but aren't able to access it. Hence, McDonald’s decided to lead the democratisation of the haute cuisine to all Spaniards.

Results and Effectiveness

From 4% estimated sales, within the first 6 days, the sandwich's sales were 2,5 times higher, reaching 10,1% of all products sold. And still, after the 5th week, one in the beginning unplanned week of campaign, sales kept being at 6,5%. 2.5% higher than the initially marked and expected objective of the campaign. Brand awareness increased 15% compared to the 4 previous weeks' average. (Source: IMOP, January 2015. Compared to the 4 previous weeks' average) After the show, McDonald's reached 74% brand recall with an 88% buying intention. (Source: McDonald's)

Creative Execution

To position McDonald’s within a gourmet environment, we chose the most watched TV contest of professional Chefs, “Top Chef”. Chefs were challenged to create the best sandwich ever by using only natural and top-quality ingredients. For the first time ever, the audience witnessed in real-time the creation of a gourmet sandwich. The winner’s creation was available the day right after the show at all McDonald’s restaurants. TV-viewers were invited to try the sandwich for free in case they voted correctly the winner. The campaign itself was a recipe composed by branded content, social media, mobile App and further commercials.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

As consumers started to pursue “something more” from brands, we took advantage of the exponential growth of interest in haute cuisine to reconnect with our consumer's palates in a transparent and trustworthy way. To engaged with our consumers and elevate the brand's image we needed an innovative content through which we could impact our demanding consumer while differentiating us from our competitors. A platform that would allow McDonald's to escape the price battle and position itself as the leader of the gourmet democratization: quality made accessible to all Spaniards and letting them be part of the experience.