16 August 2021

Interested in Mcdonalds ads? Then you have come to the right place!

There are over 39,000 McDonald’s restaurants located in 118 countries across the world, and each one of them feels like home (especially to its staff and regular customers).

Through its strategic marketing, McDonald’s has been able to forge the illusion of a home away from home; every McDonald’s welcomes people of all demographics to bond with others, or take a moment for themselves, whilst munching on their trusty fast food offerings.

Here, we take the time to explore how McDonald’s has consistently remained at the top of the fast food market.

We will consider how the brand attracts different customers by producing commercials that appeal to all viewers and tailored commercials that appeal to a specific group of viewers. Naturally, we will also be taking the time to consider the soundtrack for each ad.

Do you happen to be looking for some music to make your television ad?

Head on over to our music for advertising page to read up about the best type of tracks for commercials, and subsequently explore our production genre playlist to discover compositions ready and waiting for you.

McDonald’s Marketing History: Key Strategies

Ever since Ray Kroc took over the McDonald’s brand in the 1950s, McDonald’s has strived to be the world’s leading fast food company.

How? By keeping their prices low, standards consistent and having something on the menu for everyone.

Across the years, the tagline ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ has been key to the McDonald’s brand – it reminds consumers that a meal from a chain restaurant is a simple way to obtain instant gratification.

No matter if the commercial is targeting kids, mothers, businessmen or others, the ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ tagline works.

In terms of mascots, McDonald’s have featured various characters in print and television ads – as you will know, some have stuck around longer than others.

In 1963, three television ads dropped introducing the character of Ronald McDonald. Inspired by The Bozo Show – the number one children’s television show at the time – McDonald’s hired the actor who played Bozo (Willard Scott) to take on the character of Ronald McDonald, the hamburger-happy clown.

From here on in, McDonald’s continued to build upon the persona of Ronald and create characters for him to interact with – including the Hamburglar, Grimace and Birdie the Early Bird.

Above all, McDonald’s believes it’s vital to ensure that their commercials welcome people from all walks of life into their world.

A common theme of the brand’s ads is 'home' – the commercials emphasise that everyone is welcome to take a moment to indulge and re-energise inside a McDonald’s restaurant.

Below, we look at the top McDonald’s television commercials and decipher how the restaurant chain has managed to appeal to everyone.

Top McDonald’s Television Commercials

1. Laughter (2021)

Nothing lifts our mood and helps us bond with others than a little laughter.

McDonald’s aimed to associate the feeling of delight one feels when laughing with their fast food offerings with the release of the 2021 ad Laughter. The ad promotes the idea that happy memories are made every day inside of McDonald’s restaurants across the world.

Music: The uplifting, driving music heard throughout the ad helps evoke happy memories the audience member may have experienced within a McDonald’s restaurant.

2. Hungry Eyes (2021)

To advertise their McDelivery service, McDonald’s released a commercial in summer '21 that shows the gratifying experience of having a McDonald’s order delivered to your door.

Essentially, the commercial focuses on a slew of hungry Brits who make good use of the McDelivery service and subsequently consume their meals in their own unique ways.

Music: As Eric Carmen’s 80s hit ‘Hungry Eyes’ plays throughout the ad, the commercial aptly zeroes in on the eyes of those who’ve ordered a McDonald’s to their home.

3. Travis Scott Meal (2020)

McDonald's is a pop culture phenomenon, and so is rapper Travis Scott. The two joined forces in 2020 and announced the Travis Scott meal; as expected, hypebeasts went crazy for the collaboration and helped the restaurant boost their sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Music: Travis Scott is famed for his unique sound that combines cloud rap, dark rap and trap to create haunting, psychedelic beats.

McDonald’s uses Scott’s signature sound to soundtrack the McDonald’s ad, adding an extra layer to the Travis Scott x McDonald’s experience.

4. The Gift (2020)

October 2020’s ad titled The Gift is one of the sweetest, most soul-stirring ads the restaurant franchise has ever released.

Simply put, the commercial focuses on a working-class son from Northern England who is gifted his mum’s car for his birthday. The young man shows a lot of gratitude towards his mother, even though his peers attempt to embarrass him for driving his mother’s car to McDonald’s and back.

Music: Whilst the young man is munching on his McDonald’s fries in the restaurant’s car park, he discovers his mother’s homemade CD. He pops the CD into the car’s media player, and Westlife’s cheesy pop hit ‘Flying Without Wings’ begins to play.

Not only does this track emphasise the bond between the mother and the son, but it also highlights the fact that the young man is grateful to be flying around in a car whilst his peers are travelling by foot and bicycle.

5. Interview (2019)

Interview may have first aired a couple of years ago, but it’s undoubtedly the McDonald’s commercial we most regularly think about.

The ad teaches viewers an important lesson: be kind to strangers and good karma will reward you.

Music: Whilst the majority of the commercial is free of music, a track does kick in towards the end. Soft strings provide the story with an emotional ending that highlights the moral of the story.

Music For Your Advert

McDonald’s are savvy enough to know that music is of supreme importance when producing a television commercial, and we hope you are too.

At Audio Network, we invite you to browse our catalogue of over 200,000 compositions and sample tracks that prompt curiosity.

Perhaps you could start by visiting our musical style and mood page, which contains playlists such as indie, pop and hip-hop and R&B. Or maybe you'd prefer to discover tracks via our production genre page, which contains playlists such as documentary, drama, comedy and lifestyle.