Mythical ‘nian’ figure modernised for McDonald’s' Chinese New Year campaign

According to Chinese mythology, a nian is a beast that comes out of hiding to attack people every spring. The campaign aims to reignite interest in the well-respected historical traditions of the most important Chinese holiday.

As the tradition goes, the nian figure is repelled with fireworks and food offerings to satisfy his hunger. In the campaign, a modern-day nian is seen to be only satisfied by McDonald’s seasonal CNY menu, setting the stage for a series of four TV commercials.

In the spots, the nian tries to get its hands on customers' food, but they are reluctant to give up their meals. Watch the Chicken Box spot, the Mushroom Burger spot, the Prosperity Snack Combo spot, and the Red Bean Pie spot.

Credits:
Project: McDonald’s Nian Campaign
Client: McDonald’s China
Creative Agency: TBWA\Shanghai
Managing Director: Brian Swords
Group Account Director: Jane Lim
Head of Creative: Edmund Choe
Group Creative Director: Gordon Shu
Creative Director: Joe Zhou
Associate Creative Director: Steven Chung
Art Director: Popo Jin
Copy Writer: Jeff Zhang
Strategist: Jocelyn Tse
Head of TV: Raymond Lau
Director: Wang Zi Zhao
Director of Photography: Ronnie Ching
Production Company: PRO Films Shanghai
Production Company Executive Producer: Jack Tsai
Media Agency: OMD
OMD Media Team: Tracy Luk, Yinling Lin, Shelly Shen, Lily Gu, Bei Pei, Joe Wang, Joyce Zhang, Kevin Zhong, Ivy Weng, Maruken Zhang
McDonald’s Media Team: Gavin Quan, Colin Chen
Category/Exposure: TV
Territories: Mainland China