McDonald's Canada Bets on Poutine Legend to Launch a Larger Menu Icon
McDonald's Canada and agency Cossette launched "Large poutine. A huge legend." in Quebec in April 2021, using a 60-second cinematic video to celebrate poutine's contested cultural origins while announcing the arrival of a new large-size poutine across McDonald's restaurants throughout the province.
The campaign is built around one of Quebec's most enduring culinary debates: who invented poutine. The 60-second hero film traces the dish's legendary beginnings, referencing the town of Warwick and the now-famous 1956 moment when restaurant owner Fernand Lachance allegedly combined fries and cheese curds for the very first time, with Jeannine Vaudreuil present as a witness to that founding act. Rather than resolve the debate, the campaign reopens it — using ambiguity as a creative engine. The film was shot on the outskirts of Victoriaville and incorporates the cheesemaker in Plessisville, which supplies the cheese curds for McDonald's poutine to this day, grounding the brand's supply chain in authentic Quebec geography.
Actors and non-actors from Warwick and Drummondville appear throughout the spot, lending the production a documentary texture that distinguishes it from conventional quick-service restaurant advertising. The campaign ran across television, online video in 30-second, 15-second, and 6-second formats, as well as posters, web banners, radio, and social media on McDonald's Canada Instagram and TikTok accounts, according to Strategy Online. Media planning was handled by OMD, per Strategy Online. In Canada — specifically in Quebec — the campaign functioned simultaneously as a product announcement, a cultural tribute, and a piece of regional storytelling, earning a Clapboard Score of 64 out of 100.
Cossette identified poutine's unresolved origin story as the strategic centrepiece of the campaign. Cédric Audet, Creative Director at Cossette, stated the objective was to be "highly creative and, above all, authentic" for the Quebec dish, as reported by Strategy Online. That authenticity imperative shaped every executional decision, from casting residents of Warwick and Drummondville to filming on location near Victoriaville rather than in a studio environment.
Melissa Hains, Regional Marketing Supervisor for Quebec at McDonald's Canada, stated the campaign aimed to "pay tribute to both poutine — a homegrown legend — and the various regions of la Belle Province," per Strategy Online. This framing positions McDonald's not as an American fast-food chain importing a product to Quebec but as a participant in the province's own food culture — a meaningful distinction in a market where regional identity carries significant consumer weight.
In Canada, the quick-service restaurant category remained intensely competitive through 2021, with McDonald's facing ongoing pressure from Burger King and Tim Hortons, both of which maintain strong national footprints. The global QSR market was estimated to be growing at a compound annual rate of approximately 5.8 percent from 2022 through 2030, according to Research and Markets, reflecting a broader post-pandemic recovery trend driven by reopening, increased drive-thru use, and digital ordering. By centering the "Large poutine. A huge legend." campaign on a dish with no equivalent in competitor menus, Cossette effectively carved out a cultural space that neither Burger King nor Tim Hortons could credibly occupy, reinforcing McDonald's distinctive local relevance in Quebec.
Director Le GED shaped the visual identity of "Large poutine. A huge legend." in a style that Cédric Audet, Creative Director at Cossette, described as "much closer to that of film clips and epic sports videos than so-called traditional advertising," as reported by Strategy Online. The result is a 60-second film that moves with the kinetic energy of a music video rather than the measured pacing typical of food-category advertising, treating the poutine's origin story with the gravity usually reserved for national mythology.
The original score was composed by Vlooper of Alaclair Ensemble, a Montreal-based hip-hop collective with deep roots in Quebec's French-language music scene. The choice of Vlooper anchors the campaign's soundtrack in contemporary Quebec culture while maintaining the epic register that the visual treatment demands. Together, Le GED's direction and Vlooper's composition create a tonal coherence that elevates the campaign beyond a standard product-launch format.
Production drew on the real geography of the poutine's contested origins. Filming took place on the outskirts of Victoriaville, with scenes incorporating the Plessisville cheesemaker that supplies McDonald's Canada with its cheese curds and documentary-style appearances by Jeannine Vaudreuil, who was present in Warwick in 1956 when Fernand Lachance allegedly created the dish. The decision to cast non-actors from Warwick and Drummondville alongside professional actors reinforces the campaign's claim to authenticity, ensuring that the faces on screen belong to the communities the campaign name-checks. The integrated campaign extended the hero film's visual language across 30-second, 15-second, and 6-second online formats, as well as posters, web banners, radio, and television executions, maintaining creative consistency across every touchpoint, per Strategy Online.
The launch post for "Large poutine. A huge legend." generated more than 2 million views and 50,000 shares across McDonald's Canada Instagram and TikTok accounts, according to Strategy Online. For a regional product launch targeting Quebec specifically, that level of organic distribution signals that the campaign's cultural framing — centred on the poutine's origin myth — activated sharing behaviour well beyond a standard promotional mechanic.
The 2 million views figure is particularly notable in the context of a province-specific campaign rather than a national rollout. Reaching that threshold on social platforms through content rooted in local history and regional identity, rather than price promotion or limited-time-offer urgency, suggests that Cossette's decision to treat poutine as legend rather than product generated measurable earned amplification. The 50,000 shares figure, as reported by Strategy Online, points to an audience that found the narrative worth distributing — a meaningful outcome for a food and drink campaign competing for attention in a crowded quick-service restaurant environment.
The campaign also fits within a broader pattern of creative ambition between McDonald's Canada and Cossette. The agency won the 2018 Cannes Lions Outdoor Grand Prix for "Follow the Arches," a campaign that transformed the Golden Arches into directional highway signage, according to Strategy Online. "Large poutine. A huge legend." operates in a different register — narrative and cultural rather than reductive and typographic — but it draws on the same underlying strategic instinct: find the idea that only McDonald's can own. Clapboard assigns the campaign a score of 64 out of 100, reflecting solid creative execution and meaningful results against the constraints of a regional product launch.
McDonald's Canada launched "Large poutine. A huge legend." in Quebec in April 2021 to announce a new large-size poutine. Created by Cossette, the campaign uses poutine's contested 1956 origin story — referencing Warwick, Fernand Lachance, and witness Jeannine Vaudreuil — to position the product launch as a celebration of Quebec culinary heritage.
Cossette created the campaign for McDonald's Canada. The agency also handled creative direction, with Cédric Audet serving as Creative Director. Media planning was handled by OMD. Cossette and McDonald's Canada previously collaborated on "Follow the Arches," which won the 2018 Cannes Lions Outdoor Grand Prix, according to Strategy Online.
Director Le GED helmed the 60-second film, bringing a visual style closer to music videos and epic sports content than conventional food advertising. Vlooper of Alaclair Ensemble, a Montreal-based French-language hip-hop collective, composed the original score, grounding the campaign's soundtrack in contemporary Quebec cultural identity.
The launch post generated more than 2 million views and 50,000 shares on McDonald's Canada Instagram and TikTok accounts, according to Strategy Online. For a Quebec-specific product launch, that distribution volume indicates the campaign's cultural framing activated significant organic sharing behaviour beyond standard promotional content performance benchmarks.
Poutine originates in Quebec and carries strong regional cultural significance. Melissa Hains, Regional Marketing Supervisor for Quebec at McDonald's Canada, stated the campaign aimed to pay tribute to poutine and the regions of Quebec, per Strategy Online. The large poutine launched exclusively in McDonald's restaurants throughout the province, making Quebec the natural and only relevant geographic focus.
Clapboard assigns "Large poutine. A huge legend." a score of 64 out of 100. The score reflects competent creative execution rooted in authentic cultural storytelling, meaningful social media results for a regional campaign, and a strategic approach that distinguishes McDonald's Canada within Quebec's competitive quick-service restaurant market.
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