Competitors were getting people talking on social by adding more and more ridiculous ingredients to their burgers. We didn’t want to follow suit, so our challenge was to find a way of keeping McDonald’s involved in the conversation, while reminding customers of our famous ingredients. Oh, and by the way, we had $0 budget.
At 7am on 1st April 2019 (April Fool’s Day), we launched an all-new burger modelled on one of Australia’s all-time favourites – the Big Mac – but packed it full of an ingredient we knew would get people talking: pickles. And thus, the McPickle was born.
After launching the burger on McDonald’s Facebook and Instagram feeds, the McPickle quickly caught people’s attention, and regardless of whether they liked the look of it or loathed it, the burger became a massive hit, first across Australia and then the world. Even though people were quick to realise it was all just an April Fool’s joke, that didn’t stop them from hacking the McPickle, challenging each other to eat one and even critiquing its distinctive taste.
The McPickle gained 96% positive sentiment, over 500 million impressions – equivalent to more than $12m P.R value - and generated 800 plus media stories worldwide. It’s since become the most requested item at McDonald’s in Australia.
Not bad for something that doesn’t exist.
