Japanese Family McDonald's Ad

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About

Japanese Family McDonald's Ad refers to an animated advertisement for the fast food chain McDonald's in which a family of three is having a McDonald's meal. In late September 2023, the ad achieved popularity on X over its family-positive message, spawning Shinzo Abe vs. Japan's declining birthrate" jokes among other memes.

Origin

On September 20th, 2023, the official X^[1] account for McDonald's Japan posted a 20-second animated advertisement in which a family of three, a father, a mother and their daughter, ate McDonald's takeout. The video (shown below) garnered over 29.8 million views, 48,900 retweets and 269,000 likes in one day.

Spread

On the same day, the advertisement attracted significant attention on X, with users quoting the posts with jokes, and some posts expressing appreciation for its family-positive message. For example, on September 20th, X^[2] user @Rev_says_desu captioned the image, "Guys literally only want one thingg and it’s f**king beautiful," with the post (shown below) garnering over 2,100 reposts and 15,800 likes in one day.

Starting on the same day, users posted memes referencing the commercial and it message. For example, on that day X^[3] user @real_hotaru posted an Are You Sure This Will Help Us Sell More Burgers? meme implying that former Primer Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe was behind the commercial that gained over 5,100 reposts and 40,500 likes (shown below, left). On September 21s, 2023, X^[4] user @Bolverk15 quoted the video, commenting, "Billions will be born." The post (shown below, right) received over 1,900 reposts and 39,400 likes in one day.

More jokes and memes referencing the video went viral on X in the days following the upload as the discourse surrounding it continued.

Second and Third Ads

On September 22nd, the official X^[5] account for McDonald's Japan posted a second animated ad within the campaign, a 20-second animation of three friends sharing a takeout meal. The video (shown below) gained over 2.3 million views, 5,500 reposts and 34,800 likes in four hours.

In the following hours, the advertisement drew similar attention to the first ad, with users expressing appreciation for the message sent by it (examples^[6]^[7] shown below).

On September 24th, 2023, @McDonaldsJapan^[8] uploaded the third ad in the series, in which a group of monsters, including Dracula, Frankenstein, a werewolf and a mummy rode in a convertible. The ad (shown below) received over 12,700 retweets and 78,700 likes and was also followed by viral quote posts.^[9]^[10]

Fourth Ad

On November 1st, 2023, @McDonaldsJapan^[11] uploaded the fourth ad, which is about a student couple in the restaurant with a girl who keeps teasing a boy, making him awkward. The ad received more than 56,400 reposts and 340,900 likes in one day (shown below).

Hours later, like the earlier advertisements, it also gained attention with many artists drawing fan art of the characters. For example, on November 1st, 2023, artist Sky-Freedom uploaded fan art of the couple to X^[13] account. The image received more than 7,400 reposts and 43,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). On November 2nd, the artist hews on X^[14] uploaded a work-in-progress sketch of the girl in the ad. The post received more than 2,200 reposts and 20,000 likes in seven hours (shown below, right).