McDonald’s and W+K double down on breakfast with nostalgic new campaign

McDonald’s Australia and Wieden+Kennedy Sydney have followed up their debut campaign with a national push titled Brekkie Comes First, celebrating Macca’s breakfast menu and the cult-like loyalty of morning fans.

Centred on the relatable insight that many Australians “only go to Macca’s for the breakfast,” the campaign plays on the heartbreak of missing the brekkie window - contrasted with the bliss of making it just in time for a McMuffin or hashbrown.

Anchoring the campaign is a 30-second film Delicious Heartache, set to Roxette’s 1980s ballad It Must Have Been Love. Directed by Taso Alexander via Revolver, the spot features an emotional montage of breakfast fans experiencing the agony and ecstasy of timed cravings - with the reminder that it’ll be back again tomorrow.

The campaign also marks the Australian debut of McGriddles, the globally popular breakfast burger with pancake buns. A complementary spot, Most Important Meal, promotes the new item as the latest addition to Macca’s all-star breakfast lineup.

Out-of-home creative carries the same humour-led tone, with lines including McGriddles Are Here, Tell Greg, Nothing Good Happens After 4am… Oh Wait and Don’t Sleep On It.

W+K Sydney group creative directors Roy Leibowitz and Chris Wilson said for plenty of people, the best bit of Macca’s is brekkie.

"To them, breakfast really does come first. And it sucks to miss it.”

The social campaign leans into retro love song dedications and a wave of ‘hopecore’ memes, celebrating the joy of scoring brekkie in time.

The work is now running across TV, digital, social, OOH, radio, retail and the MyMacca’s app.

W+K Sydney MD Matt Owen added it was great to take a global insight and put an Aussie twist on it.

"Tonally, this feels like the right sort of space for us to play in.”