Few menu items have carried the pop culture cachet as long as the Big Mac has since its debut in 1968. The combination of iconicity and longevity is unmatched. Since its introduction, the Big Mac has always been composed of two all-beef patties, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and special sauce on a sesame seed bun. But in 2024, McDonald’s did the unthinkable: it changed the meat on this iconic burger. By swapping the beef for chicken, the Chicken Big Mac was born.
Despite the Big Mac’s legendary status, it’s been a while since we gave our most iconic product the spotlight it deserves. With the launch of the Chicken Big Mac, we set out to generate excitement and a halo effect across the entire Big Mac line while energizing and delighting our fans.
Over the past few years, the success of our marketing strategy has been driven by our deep connection with McDonald’s fans. By embracing their natural love for the brand, we’ve allowed their thoughts, feelings, and relationship with McDonald’s to guide our approach. Rather than speaking at them as a brand, we engage with them as fellow fans. This approach has led to culturally relevant campaigns, but we’re just scratching the surface.
One of our main objectives as we continue expanding into our audience’s world is to help shape culture through taste. To continue pursuing this goal, we recognize the need to be flexible with some of our most iconic products.
Since its debut in 1967, the Big Mac has made a lasting impression on popular culture, becoming more than just a burger—it’s a cultural symbol. For over 50 years, its classic ingredients—two beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun—have remained unchanged. The launch of the Chicken Big Mac marks a significant shift, giving customers the option for chicken. For us this change sparked an important question and an interesting insight: Can a Big Mac with chicken still be called a Big Mac? This campaign aims to ignite that debate and spark conversation around the iconic sandwich.
While many brands, including McDonald’s, have collaborated with musicians, fashion designers, and athletes, this is the first partnership between a blue-chip brand and a live streamer: Kai Cenat. By aligning with Kai Cenat, a leading figure in the rapidly growing world of streaming entertainment, this
campaign placed the Chicken Big Mac and our question of whether or not it's a Big Mac into an emerging medium, positioning McDonald’s inside a bold and innovative space.
Building on the cultural cachet of the world’s most famous sandwich, the Big Mac—we created two TVC films that pay homage to Big Mac’s classic and modern fandom. The first spot comes to life in a food focused film that remixes the OG Big Mac jingle from the ‘70s with a chicken addition —featuring the two sandwiches engaging in a musical duel. Our other film is a sequel to Kai’s viral video where he ordered a Big Mac with a live choir standing in a McDonald’s Drive Thru, but with a surreal Chicken Big Mac twist that brings his chat into the convo.
In addition to traditional TV, we invaded the internet with three live streams hosted by Kai Cenat and a few famous friends to debate if the Chicken Big Mac is a Big Mac or not. This wasn’t just content for content's sake , it was about finding our fans where they were. They ran with it and created thousands of pieces of content. Streamers far and wide ate Chicken Big Macs and streamed. Content creators reacted and reviewed the latest Big Mac.React and review content creators reacted and reviewed.
Every touchpoint was about giving fans the opportunity to answer the question “Is a Big Mac with Chicken a Big Mac” for themselves. We created two TVC films that pay homage to Big Mac’s classic and modern fandom. The first spot, a food focused film that remixes the OG Big Mac jingle from the ‘70s with a chicken addition —featuring the two sandwiches engaging in a musical duel. Our other film is a sequel to Kai’s viral video where he ordered a Big Mac with a live choir standing in a McDonald’s Drive Thru, but with a Chicken Big Mac twist that brings “the chat” into the convo.
And to cement this new chicken legacy, we took Chicken vs. Beef everywhere: we made custom Beef vs. Chicken headphones, mascots and bling. We even lit up the Las Vegas Sphere—the world’s biggest, boldest billboard—with a larger-than-life Original and Chicken Big Mac. By the end, the world couldn’t help but join in on the debate. But no matter your take, one thing is certain. Like the OG beef version, the new Chicken Big Mac became an icon.
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