Méqui: Heartfelt Stories Connecting Brazilians and Fans | Clapboard Ad Archive

That’s why I call McDonald’s Méqui

Description

In September 2024, McDonald’s Brazil, in collaboration with the agency GALERIA.ag, launched the heartfelt campaign "That’s why I call McDonald’s Méqui," embracing the affectionate nickname that Brazilians have lovingly bestowed upon the brand. This film-based campaign, consisting of four distinct media assets, delves into the emotional connection Brazilians feel towards McDonald’s, revealing why Méqui is more than just a restaurant—it is a place of cherished memories and meaningful moments. By spotlighting four real-life consumer stories, the campaign uncovers the intimate reasons behind this endearing moniker. One story follows Marcel, who after his soccer team’s championship win in 2024, celebrated at Méqui and unexpectedly met his idol, the player who scored the winning goal, turning the restaurant into a symbol of victory and inspiration. The Murata family’s narrative illustrates how Méqui serves as a unifying space, where a shared passion for the Happy Meal brought three generations back together. Another touching account is Camile’s lifelong dream to celebrate her birthday at Méqui in 1996, made possible when the brand opened its first local restaurant ahead of schedule just to fulfill her wish, creating a magical and lasting memory. Lastly, the campaign captures a romantic proposal in 2017, where Paulo chose Méqui as the setting to “say yes,” ingeniously hiding the engagement rings in a sandwich box, highlighting how the brand plays a significant role in personal love stories. Sérgio Eleutério, marketing director at McDonald’s Brazil, emphasizes that Méqui represents the Brazilian way of expressing love and friendship with the brand, akin to calling old friends by nicknames. Rafael Urenha, Chief Creative Officer of GALERIA.ag, highlights the campaign’s near-documentary style intended to authentically portray these genuine emotional bonds. Produced by Hungry Man with music by Evil Twin Music, the films are available on McDonald’s official channels and supported by integrated digital, press, OOH, and influencer content, reinforcing Méqui as a beloved cultural icon woven into the fabric of Brazilian life.

Credits

Client

McDonald's

Agency

GALERIA.ag

Cco

Rafael Urenha

Creative Director

Carlos Schleder, Phil Daijó and Rodrigo Marangoni, Guzera, Rodrigo Porto, Mellina Fontoura and Paula Keller Perego, Rodrigo Bonfim and Victor Capato, Rodrigo Bonfim, Victor Capato, Elder Caldeira, Marcelo Vaz and André Kirkelis

Content

Thaís Lapastini, Guillermo Calvin, Rebeca Avila, Polianna Sena, Victor Moraes, Lucas Melo, Renan Silva, Gabriela Greipel and Giovanna Maracajá

Account Management

Ana Coutinho, Paula Salvarani, Tais Boaventura, Larissa Gama, Bruna Santarosa, Giulia Vita e Júlia Dantas, Manoella Coelho da Fonseca, Juliana Tangary, Thaís Becker and Letícia Brito

Client Approval

Sérgio Aguiar Eleutério, Lariane Duarte, Bruna Lahr, Letícia Anjos and Maria Eduarda Felix

Media

Paulo Ilha, Kaline Lessio, Isabella Ferro, Mirella Covaleski, Bruno Souza, Gustavo Botelho and Juan Cesar

Strategic Planner

Carol Mello, Rafael Martins, Felipe Ribeiro, Matheus Brito, Júlia Ferraz, Alana Moraes, Felipe Fonseca, Graziele Soares and Vitor Corrêa

Pr

Patricia Capuchinho, Mariana Novaes and Fernanda Gil

More like this

One chocolate bar at a time - HP and Hershey's | Clapboard Ad Archive

One chocolate bar at a time positions HP Indigo and Hershey’s at the crossroads of packaging innovation and social progress, with the 2022 campaign in Brazil transforming standard confectionery packaging into a dynamic platform for authentic storytelling and representation. Engineered in partnership with Camargo Cia de Embalagens and led by BETC Havas, the campaign leverages HP Indigo’s advanced digital printing to create limited-edition Hershey’s bars that become canvases for women’s achievements in fields spanning science, business, sports, activism, and music, turning each product into an aspirational touchpoint. The creative strategy moves beyond transactional branding, driving differentiation by meaningfully connecting with consumers who demand both authenticity and cultural relevance — a sharp response to the rapid rise of value-driven purchase behavior, especially among socially conscious Brazilian audiences during International Women’s Day and the broader #HerForShe movement. By highlighting real women from varied backgrounds and featuring their stories and likenesses on retail-ready chocolate bars, Hershey and HP Indigo mobilize what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#10—Associated User Imagery, inviting women and girls to see themselves and their potential reflected directly in the product. This format is crucial: it shifts the campaign’s emotional focus from abstract brand values to living, breathing role models, generating deeper resonance and a sense of inclusion at the point of sale. In the crowded Food & Drink market category—where competitors like Mondelez, Nestlé, and Mars increasingly use storytelling and personalization—the campaign amplifies differentiation by showing how technology can unlock new dimensions for brand advocacy and consumer engagement. At the same time, HP Indigo’s flexibility and customization signal strategic value for brands and print providers eyeing uncontested or niche markets, fundamentally expanding what packaging can deliver beyond basic functionality. This collaboration’s impact is also multiplied by its multiplatform presence and its cultural alignment, with social media and owned channels extending reach and reinforcing the campaign’s relevance within technology, retail, and public interest industry spheres. The campaign earns 72/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. The work underscores how brand partnerships that merge next-generation production technologies with progressive storytelling are poised to rewrite the boundaries of consumer interaction and brand purpose in the packaging sector.

Campaign Proposition

The campaign "That’s why I call McDonald’s Méqui," launched in Brazil in 2024 by GALERIA.ag for McDonald’s, centers on the emotional and affectionate bond between the brand and its Brazilian consumers. By embracing the widely used nickname “Méqui,” the campaign conveys a brand proposition rooted in intimacy, familiarity, and meaningful personal connections. It positions McDonald’s not simply as a food provider but as a cultural and emotional anchor in everyday life, where the experience transcends dining and becomes intertwined with moments of joy, celebration, and togetherness. Strategically, the campaign leverages the insight that a nickname signals closeness and affection, using this cultural nuance as a lens to unlock deeper emotional resonance. Targeting Brazilian consumers who view McDonald’s as “more than a restaurant,” the creative approach foregrounds authentic, narrative-driven storytelling through four real-life vignettes. Each story—ranging from championship celebrations and family reunions to lifelong dreams and romantic proposals—illustrates the personal significance and warmth associated with Méqui. This narrative strategy serves to humanize the brand, positioning McDonald’s as an enduring part of life’s milestones and personal histories. The campaign’s multi-channel execution, encompassing film, digital, press, out-of-home, and influencer content, reinforces its emotional messaging and broad reach. By focusing on genuine consumer experiences and embedding the brand within culturally significant moments, the campaign effectively harnesses local insights to strengthen brand loyalty and deepen consumer affinity in the competitive food service market.

Creative Device

FORMAT#10 ASSOCIATED USER IMAGERY — Shows a user profile the target audience can relate to or aspire to. This campaign is structured around authentic, emotionally resonant vignettes featuring real McDonald’s (Méqui) consumers sharing their unique, personal connections with the brand. Rather than using problem–solution narratives, symbolism, direct product demonstrations, parodies, or pure celebrity endorsement, the films showcase relatable, aspirational user stories—fans whose lived experiences and cultural context mirror the target audience’s values and affections. The focus is on audience identification: Méqui becomes “yours” through the eyes and lives of its most passionate real users, cementing brand love through identification, not story-driven conflict or solution.

Obrigado - Heineken | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Obrigado - Heineken | Clapboard Ad Archive

Heineken’s Obrigado campaign, created by Publicis in Brazil’s competitive alcoholic drinks sector, delivers a masterclass in emotional brand storytelling by elevating the revered legacy of Ayrton Senna to unify disparate consumer identities under a single, shared narrative of national pride and togetherness. Launched in Year: 2019, the campaign leverages Senna — a figure whose career and symbolic gestures on the Formula 1 circuit resonate profoundly with Brazilians of all backgrounds — as both subject and metaphor, reframing the act of raising a flag not as an expression of exclusion but as a moment of absolute collective belonging. Publicis orchestrates this tribute through a film platform that privileges atmospheric storytelling, stirring music, and evocative visual language over conventional product messaging, situating Heineken as a facilitator of meaningful connection and shared experience rather than just another beverage on offer. This approach, precisely what Clapboard’s taxonomy classifies as FORMAT#8—Ongoing Characters or Celebrities, is a strategic deployment of celebrity equity: Heineken borrows Senna’s universal appeal to reinforce values of unity and gratitude, executing what many competitors in the food and drink category are too often reticent to attempt — investing in cultural relevance over functional positioning. Set against a market backdrop defined by giants like Ambev’s populist Skol and Brahma, and the aspirational cues of imports such as Budweiser and Corona, Heineken’s focus on emotional heritage marketing distinguishes its brand as both worldly and deeply local, engaging the audience beyond transactional beer sales into a dialogue about shared Brazilian identity. The succinct hashtag #ObrigadoSenna encapsulates this intent, becoming a call for communal appreciation as much as a brand mnemonic, while the thoughtfully crafted narrative sidesteps any direct product demonstration or category comparison to build a durable halo of authenticity. The creative choices signal mature brand confidence, allowing Heineken to occupy a unique territory: not the everyday beer of mass gatherings, nor the escape of seashore leisure, but the celebrant of occasions that matter personally and nationally. The campaign earns 63/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. For the industry, Obrigado signals a rising imperative for brands to move beyond short-term attention metrics, because in a saturated market real connections are built not on ubiquity but on cultural resonance and emotional truth.

Christmas Rules - Coca-Cola | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Christmas Rules - Coca-Cola | Clapboard Ad Archive

Coca-Cola’s Christmas Rules campaign, launched in Brazil in 2018 by agency David São Paulo, stands as a timely homage to one of advertising’s most enduring brand properties: the Coca-Cola Polar Bears, marking their 25th anniversary by placing them front and center in a series of festive vignettes that distill the collective rituals and unspoken norms of the holiday season. Operating in the Drinks (Non Alcoholic) market, the film roots itself in intimate, instantly recognizable Christmas moments — from gift exchanges to family gatherings — where the polar bears’ animated antics embody the warmth, optimism, and conviviality that have long defined Coca-Cola’s role as a catalyst for seasonal togetherness. Rather than pivoting to product demonstration or overtly narrative-driven arcs, the campaign leverages nostalgia and multi-generational brand equity, using an approach that sits squarely in Clapboard’s FORMAT#8 — Ongoing Characters or Celebrities classification, with the mascot’s consistent presence acting as a powerful shortcut to emotional resonance and brand recall. David’s creative execution avoids the trappings of saccharine sentimentality by grounding the polar bears in authentic scenarios, subtly echoing the idiosyncrasies and playful rules that govern holiday gatherings, making the message feel less like advertising and more like folklore. With over 115,000 views in its initial phase, the campaign affirms the enduring magnetism of these mascots — not as relics wheeled out for legacy’s sake, but as living assets capable of refreshing the brand’s holiday proposition for a digitally engaged audience. Coca-Cola’s confident resurgence of the bears speaks directly to the Brazilian audience’s appetite for tradition layered with contemporary sensibilities, reflecting how strategic use of familiar brand icons can simultaneously anchor and refresh seasonal storytelling within a highly contested market category. Clapboard rates this 63/100. In a landscape often obsessed with the latest trends at the expense of legacy, Christmas Rules demonstrates the strategic potency of sustained character-driven brand worlds when applied with both reverence and cultural fluency.

Dino, Sally & Molly - Coca-Cola | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Dino, Sally & Molly - Coca-Cola | Clapboard Ad Archive

Coca-Cola’s Dino, Sally & Molly campaign, launched in Argentina in 2021 through McCann, puts the reformulated Coke Zero Sugar at center stage in a market where taste and health consciousness converge to drive beverage decisions. With the promise of a new and improved flavor now being the most delicious the brand has ever put forth, the campaign leverages a film narrative featuring distinctive, character-driven storytelling that is as culturally local as it is universally resonant. The choice to introduce named figures like Dino, Sally, and Molly — potentially anthropomorphized or exaggerated totemic stand-ins — aligns directly with what Clapboard’s taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#9—Symbolize the Benefit, rendering the positive impact of the product through memorable symbols rather than straightforward demonstration or traditional testimonial. This creative format allows Coca-Cola and McCann to sidestep abstract claims, instead delivering an invitation rooted in the consumer’s own curiosity and agency: the product asserts its superiority but challenges viewers to try it themselves, translating the tagline into actionable engagement. The campaign’s direct challenge to competing offerings from major players like PepsiCo and local contenders like Manaos is underscored by its focus on taste experience, not just calorie count or sugar reduction, which is a strategic play in an environment where category differentiation often defaults to ingredient lists rather than sensory appeal. Views topping 186,000 reinforce the campaign’s traction and underline its relevance in sparking online conversation, while engagement metrics support awareness and trial as core objectives amid the shift in non-alcoholic drink preferences. By embedding Coca-Cola’s global values within the parameters of Argentine everyday storytelling, the campaign balances innovation — a fundamentally new recipe — with consumer reassurance and cultural familiarity. The film assets bring emotional resonance and humor, making the improved Coke Zero Sugar not just a better soda, but an experience refracted through the lives and personalities of its characters. Clapboard rates this 66/100. In a sector where product reformulations routinely meet skepticism, Dino, Sally & Molly demonstrates how abstracting the brand promise through character and symbol can powerfully recast a functional upgrade as an emotionally engaging invitation, signaling the heightened role of storytelling in non-alcoholic beverage advertising.

Pregnant - Cristal Cero | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

Pregnant - Cristal Cero | Clapboard Ad Archive

Cristal Cero’s Pregnant campaign, launched in Chile by Porta in 2013, redefined non-alcoholic drink advertising in the Food & Drink sector with a strikingly original approach at the heart of its communications strategy. Targeting an audience increasingly mindful of responsible consumption, the campaign centers on the bold, metaphorical image of a man experiencing pregnancy — a powerful inversion that subverts expectations and amplifies the societal conversation around abstaining from alcohol in pivotal life moments. Rather than opting for literal depictions of social settings where people must decline alcohol, Porta deployed what Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#3—Symbolize the Problem, using the pregnant man as an unmistakable, culturally resonant stand-in for the emotional and social nuances of choosing not to drink. This analogy not only creates immediate recall but also facilitates identification among viewers who have felt out of place or scrutinized for making considered lifestyle decisions. Set firmly within the Chilean context, the campaign’s use of Spanish and recognizable tropes grants it authenticity and ensures the messaging resonates with everyday realities. Leveraging the reach and emotional power of film, Pregnant swiftly became a national talking point, connecting through over five million views and sparking sustained engagement across social channels, reflecting both cultural insight and communication effectiveness. Porta’s creative decision elevates the Cristal Cero brand positioning, emphasizing inclusivity and awareness while cleverly sidestepping didacticism, making abstinence feel not only acceptable but smart and affirming. Especially noteworthy is the campaign’s ability to initiate dialogue without alienation: by universalizing the experience of abstention, it reframes Cristal Cero as the obvious and refreshing go-to for anyone, at any life stage, choosing sobriety. In the often-stagnant non-alcoholic drinks category, Pregnant demonstrates how deft storytelling can move beyond product benefits to provoke empathy and recognition, marking a distinct break from category norms. The campaign earns 78/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. Pregnant exemplifies how category disruption and cultural insight can humanize brand messaging in a saturated market, shifting perceptions of what drink branding can achieve when it trades cliche for creative audacity.

MASTER BEATS - Cerveza Andina | Clapboard Ad Archive — archive collection thumbnail

MASTER BEATS - Cerveza Andina | Clapboard Ad Archive

Cerveza Andina's MASTER BEATS campaign, launched in Colombia in November 2023 and developed by Emblue Group, ingeniously navigates the restrictive landscape of public music playback regulations that often stifle the enjoyment of music in everyday settings like public buses and parks. The campaign addresses a significant cultural frustration: the inability to play favorite songs in public spaces without incurring hefty licensing fees, which limits spontaneous musical experiences. By introducing the Andina Master Beats mobile experience, Cerveza Andina transforms this challenge into an opportunity for connection and joy, allowing music lovers to engage with their favorite tracks in a legally compliant manner. This innovative approach employs the talent of a national beatbox league champion, who reinterprets popular music hits through beatboxing, creating a unique auditory experience that sidesteps copyright issues while preserving the essence of the original songs. The campaign’s strategic insight is rooted in the deep cultural significance of music in Colombian life, recognizing the audience's desire for authentic engagement while operating within the confines of the law. By focusing on a lifestyle-oriented audience that values cultural expression, Cerveza Andina aligns itself with the ingenuity and passion of Colombia’s music community, enhancing its brand relevance through direct, audio, and experiential marketing tactics. What Clapboard's taxonomy would classify as FORMAT#2—problem-solution approach—effectively highlights the relatable issue of music licensing restrictions before presenting the brand's innovative solution, thus creating a compelling narrative that resonates with consumers. The campaign earns 64/100 in Clapboard's global creative archive. This campaign exemplifies how brands can creatively engage with regulatory challenges while simultaneously enhancing consumer experiences and fostering community connections.