Leo Burnett has persuaded Jeff Stark to tackle the nightmare of
working with children and animals in its latest campaign for McDonald’s
Happy Meals.
A 20-second TV spot directed by Stark catalogues those little disasters
that befall directors who use children in their ads. These vary from the
tiny tot who can’t tell the difference between down and up to a pair of
fidgety under-fives who run around when they should be standing still
for the camera.
In contrast, all the animals in the commercial are the cuddly toys
available as part of the Happy Meals promotion - a giraffe, a moose, a
yak and an elephant - and are perfectly well-behaved.
The commercial, which breaks at the weekend, will run in cinemas as a
30-second version in movies such as the Borrowers. Media, which was
planned and bought by Burnetts, has been used to target women and their
children.
A ten-second execution with a price promotion will appear on daytime
television, while the 20-second version will run in such programmes as
Sooty & Co, Wizadora and Hey Arnold!
The commercial was written by Ross Jameson, art directed by Jamie Berger
and directed by Stark through his own production company, Stark
Films.
To date, advertising for Happy Meals promotions has come largely from
the US, and has featured tie-ins with Hollywood movies such as Hercules
and Space Jam.
