McDonald's reimagines famous movie scenes for Indonesia campaign

Ads that reimagine famous movie scenes are fast becoming a recurring theme. While Ad Nut is a movie buff, and likes nothing better than to kickback and watch a great film with a stash of cashews to munch on, this reimagining-movies-in-adverts-lark is getting a tad repetitive. 

 

The latest effort from McDonald’s Indonesia attempts to reimagine almost exactly the same famous scenes from movies as a campaign film that passed Ad Nut’s desk just last week. Is it a coincidence?

 

In the 60-second film by McDonald’s, produced by Leo Burnett Indonesia, we encounter scenes reminiscent of Jurassic Park, The Matrix, and Zombie Apocalypse. In each exaggerated scene, characters are hindered by loose change—coins spill and jangle, causing distractions and suspense. 

 

 

The campaign promotes McDonald’s Indonesia’s Menu Receh (Loose Change Menu), a menu featuring affordable small bites, drinks, desserts, burgers and rice bowls, all starting from the bargain price of Rp 5,000 (USD$0.30).

 

Leo Burnett Indonesia discovered many Indonesians rarely spend their small change, viewing it as having little value or being a hassle to carry around. To turn a nuisance into a valuable currency, it looked to popular culture for inspiration. 

 

“As a film-loving nation, we loved the idea of replicating blockbuster scenes to show that even tiny sums of money can unlock feel-good experiences for a Gen Z audience, who don’t have much money to spare, yet ironically, don’t value their spare change,” explains Ravi Shanker, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett Indonesia.

 

Michael Hartono, marketing director at McDonald’s Indonesia, adds: “Value has become crucial in today’s tough economic climate. In the digital payment age, we understand that the use of loose change has become less desirable, and somewhat neglected. However, we've discovered a shift in the meaning of ‘loose change’ that goes beyond the transactional to refer to anything that’s affordable and fun. We used this insight to build relevance for our ‘value’ platform, as it goes beyond mere transactions at McDonald's.”

 

While the film is engaging and sparks instant familiarity by replicating famous movie scenes, the current trend of making movies the star of the show tends to overshadow the product being advertised and instead ends up feeling more like a movie highlights reel. While its production values are stellar, Ad Nut would prefer a little less replication and rehashing of old ideas, and perhaps a bit more originality.