2019 Winner

McDonald's Restaurants of Canada

Friends Wanted

Cossette

GoldNiche Marketing - Best in Youth Marketing

Some situations require the support and camaraderie of a friend. McDonald’s wants young Canadians to know that assembling the perfect Big Mac is one of those situations. In an effort to recruit those under 24 and to address the negative stigma around working at McD’s, the burger chain launched “Friends Wanted,” a campaign that encourages friends to apply together. The awkwardly comedic spots, which show all the ways your buds have your back on the job, were distributed on social channels, as well as targeted ones like Connected TV, where they had a 91% average view-through rate. The hiring process was actually changed to allow friends to apply and interview together, which generated over 75,000 new applications, 7.5% more than the previous year.

Credits
Agency: Cossette Global Chief Creative Officer(s): Peter Ignazi, Carlos Moreno Group Creative Director: Jon Frier Associate Creative Director/Art Director: Spencer Dingle Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Jordan Hamer Art Director: Tyler Robitaille Copywriter: Ellen Porteous Senior Designer: Eric Wood Agency Producer: Erica Metcalfe Strategist: Jeff McCrory Account Executive: Vallerie Traitses VP, Client Lead: Sarah Jue SVP, Managing Director: Kathy McGuire Senior Digital Project Manager: Jeff Maynard Production Manager: Dawn-Marie Mills Studio Director: Raquel Mullen Senior Retoucher: Trevor Gauthier Production Artist: Barry Kent Senior Director, Communications: Stacey Masson External Communications Manager: Kali Pearson Production House: Circle Productions Director: James Haworth Director of Photography: Stuart Campbell Line Producer: Amanda Field Executive Producer: Karen Tameanko Development Executive: Laurence Payne Editing House: Saints Editorial Editor: Melanie Hider Food Stylist: Noah Witenoff Colour/Transfer Facility: The Vanity Colourist: Andrew Exworth Online Facility: The Vanity Executive Producer: Stephanie Pennington VFX Artist: Kaelem Cahill Casting: Mann Casting Casting Director: Steven Mann Audio House: Berkeley Inc. Audio Engineer: Jared Kuemper Photography: Rodeo Production Photographer: Raina & Wilson

Media Company: OMD Canada Managing Director: Jammie Ogle Associate Director of Strategy: Laurie St. John Senior Strategist: Leah Burke Senior Digital Specialist: Kate Debar Search & Social Specialist: Deven Creagh

Client: McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited Chief Marketing Officer: Antoinette Benoit Marketing Officer: Hope Bagozzi Senior Marketing Manager: Melanie Courtois Chief People Officer: Stephanie Hardman External Communications Manager, Corporate Relations: Laura Munzar