McDonald’s Fresh Beef Burgers are so good celebrities are “Speechless”

Have you ever tasted a burger that’s so good it leaves you speechless? Anyone who’s had an irresistibly mouth-watering, hot and juicy burger knows that feeling: mmmmm! Ugh! Gah! They’re not real words, but we all speak this primal “burger language.” 

Understanding that a deliciously irresistible burger can leave you at a loss for words, McDonald’s is introducing people to their new 100% fresh beef Quarter Pounder burgers by launching the “Speechless” campaign. Inspired by the idea that words can’t describe the pure delight, the feeling, and the taste of a hot and juicy burger, the “Speechless” creative leverages celebrities and technology to speak for customers eating McDonald’s new hotter & juicier, 100% fresh beef Quarter Pounder. The burger tastes so good the customer is literally speechless. 

Led by We Are Unlimited, in close partnership with The Marketing Store, Burrell, Alma, IW, Resolution and OMD, “Speechless” is an integrated campaign running broadcast, online video, radio, out of home, social media and in digital. Launching nationally on May 7th, work will run through the end of 2018. A few elements of the campaign worth noting are:

TV/Video

Charles Barkley, Gabrielle Union and John Goodman help describe customers’ reactions to the taste of McDonald’s hotter and juicier burger. Additionally, Luis Fonsi describes in Spanish just how good McDonald’s Quarter Pounder tastes in spots created for the Hispanic Market. The creative and production of these spots was led by Alma.  

YouTube Masthead with Closed Captioning

The “Speechless” masthead will feature Charles Barkley, Gabrielle Union and John Goodman, and uses YouTube’s closed captioning function in a way that no brand has done before. Normally closed captioning displays what someone is saying, but since eating McDonald’s Quarter Pounder has left the celebrities speechless, the closed captioning does the talking for them – revealing the overly expressive, entertaining explanation of the sensation. 

Snackable Social Content

“Speechless” content featuring Charles, Gabrielle and John will be delivered on Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

To excite audiences’ senses, short videos using a split screen approach and an ASMR-like technique with John Goodman showcase how McDonald’s burger is made from start to finish. These sensorial videos highlight how much hotter and juicier McDonald’s made their new 100% fresh beef Quarter Pounder. Facebook and Twitter users will be served John Goodman’s ASMR(ish) video, while people on Instagram and Snapchat will experience the ASMR-ish video through a series of sequenced videos within the “story” unit.

On the day of the launch, a playful unboxing video featuring Charles Barkley will be served to All US Twitter users when they open their feed. In the video, Charles has fun opening the new Fresh Beef Quarter Pounder, and after taking a big delicious bite the chatterbox is left speechless.

On Instagram, Charles, Gabrielle, and John share the deliciousness of McDonald’s juicier and hotter burger by handing off a Quarter Pounder to one another using a carousel format. It all ends with a delicious speechless moment.