Anime ads are nothing new, but always appreciated.
In 2016, McDonald’s released two anime shorts as a part of its hiring campaign.
The 6 new shorts released this year make us hungry for McDonald’s.
Ad campaigns featuring animation in general and anime specifically as a medium is nothing new. We’ve already seen One Piece and Dragon Ball characters promoting soft drinks, as well as anime commercials for Mercedes, Windows 7 and IKEA. It’s a very memorable way to promote your product, after all — though it is always fun to see big corporations turning to our favorite medium.
Though out of them all, it feels like McDonald’s has a special relationship with anime. And we are not even talking about the countless times this restaurant chain was featured (directly or mostly indirectly as WcDonald’s) in countless anime and manga!
McDonald’s special relationship with anime
Back in 2016, as a part of its “Join the Crew. Campaign” to attract more part-time workers, McDonald’s released a couple of fully animated shorts. These shorts (voiced by AKB48 idol group members), feature a coming-of-age story of a girl named Sumire, as she joins the restaurant crew, gains experience, and becomes its new manager.
Honestly, if you told us that these animated shorts were actually from a full-length slice-of-life anime that was one of the most popular shows of its seasons, we wouldn’t bat an eye. Neither are we surprised by its ability to inspire the viewers to get a job at McDonald’s, of all places. After all, anime in general is well documented to inspire its viewers to try out new things — school bands became much more popular after K-On!, Hibike! Euphonium caused an influx of schoolkids interested in orchestral music, and seasonal sports anime like Kuroko no Basket, Free! and Yowamushi Pedal always increase the number of corresponding sports clubs.
The new ad campaign is very chill
McDonald’s new ad campaign features a series of short (about 20 seconds) anime videos in completely mundane situations. A young family of three enjoying fries and chicken nuggets. A group of friends finding a particularly long french fry. A pair of schoolkids flirting during their meal. A total of six slice-of-life anime shorts, all evoking a warm, fluffy, comfortable feeling in their viewer.
It’s no secret that Japanese ads are a bit different than those in the West, as they prioritize associating their products with a particular feeling, leading many commercials to feel absolutely nonsensical to our sensibilities. Still, this particular ad campaign manages to work perfectly well for both Japanese and Western audiences, and the fact that it’s practically mandatory for anime to make its food look positively delicious certainly helps.
Aaaaand now we’re hungry for McDonald’s. How about you?
Also, their fries look delicious.
Summary:
Anime ads are nothing new, but always appreciated.
In 2016, McDonald’s released two anime shorts as a part of its hiring campaign.
The 6 new shorts released this year make us hungry for McDonald’s.
Ad campaigns featuring animation in general and anime specifically as a medium is nothing new. We’ve already seen One Piece and Dragon Ball characters promoting soft drinks, as well as anime commercials for Mercedes, Windows 7 and IKEA. It’s a very memorable way to promote your product, after all — though it is always fun to see big corporations turning to our favorite medium.
Though out of them all, it feels like McDonald’s has a special relationship with anime. And we are not even talking about the countless times this restaurant chain was featured (directly or mostly indirectly as WcDonald’s) in countless anime and manga!
McDonald’s special relationship with anime
Back in 2016, as a part of its “Join the Crew. Campaign” to attract more part-time workers, McDonald’s released a couple of fully animated shorts. These shorts (voiced by AKB48 idol group members), feature a coming-of-age story of a girl named Sumire, as she joins the restaurant crew, gains experience, and becomes its new manager.
Honestly, if you told us that these animated shorts were actually from a full-length slice-of-life anime that was one of the most popular shows of its seasons, we wouldn’t bat an eye. Neither are we surprised by its ability to inspire the viewers to get a job at McDonald’s, of all places. After all, anime in general is well documented to inspire its viewers to try out new things — school bands became much more popular after K-On!, Hibike! Euphonium caused an influx of schoolkids interested in orchestral music, and seasonal sports anime like Kuroko no Basket, Free! and Yowamushi Pedal always increase the number of corresponding sports clubs.
The new ad campaign is very chill
McDonald’s new ad campaign features a series of short (about 20 seconds) anime videos in completely mundane situations. A young family of three enjoying fries and chicken nuggets. A group of friends finding a particularly long french fry. A pair of schoolkids flirting during their meal. A total of six slice-of-life anime shorts, all evoking a warm, fluffy, comfortable feeling in their viewer.
It’s no secret that Japanese ads are a bit different than those in the West, as they prioritize associating their products with a particular feeling, leading many commercials to feel absolutely nonsensical to our sensibilities. Still, this particular ad campaign manages to work perfectly well for both Japanese and Western audiences, and the fact that it’s practically mandatory for anime to make its food look positively delicious certainly helps.
