Grandma Gets a Life Thanks to McDonald's, Whose Chicken Tenders Are as Good as Hers

Grandma isn't bitter that McDonald's new Buttermilk Crispy Tenders are as good as the ones she makes. In fact, she's thrilled. She won't have to cook anymore, and can finally enjoy life. That's the deadpan theme of a new campaign from We Are Unlimited, featuring seven spots and supporting materials in which grandmas embrace, or sarcastically bemoan, the advent of the new menu item. Check out two 30-second spots here: [kickout id="1"] [kickout id="2"] Toygar Barzakaya, who joined Omnicom’s dedicated McDonald’s agency as chief creative officer in May, tells Adweek that a key challenge was getting people to considering trying a new chicken product at a chain that's better known for burgers and fries. "McDonald's is not really famous for chicken. How do you get an audience who doesn't really see you as a chicken expert to at least give it a try?" he said. The Buttermilk Crispy Tenders were a hit during a test run in Charlotte, N.C., he added. "Anytime you have a product that's awesome, half the job is already done for you." Barzakaya admitted the concept of comparing restaurant-made or store-bought food to what grandmas make is hardly new, but said the campaign puts a fresh spin on it. "We asked ourselves, who would need to give you a recommendation [to try the Buttermilk Crispy Tenders]?" he said. "In the whole territory about experts, we landed on grandmas pretty quickly. That territory is a little treaded—Grandma in the kitchen, doing an Italian pasta sauce or whatever—that imagery is kind of in our heads. So, the important thing for us was to find our own territory, to do it in a way that is unique and we haven't seen yet." Check out some :15 from the campaign here: [kickout id="3"] [kickout id="4"] [kickout id="5"] [kickout id="6"] [kickout id="7"] "There's a certain kind of confidence and modernity [in the work]," Barzakaya said. "There's still the recommendation and the 'Approved by' in there, but in a different way." CREDITS Client/Brand/Product: McDonald’s/Buttermilk Crispy Tenders launch Campaign: Buttermilk Crispy Tenders. Grandma has a life. Creative Agency: We Are Unlimited Chief Creative Officer, DDB North America: Ari Weis Chief Creative Officer, We Are Unlimited: Toygar Bazarkaya Creative Director/Copywriter: Mark Wegworth Creative Director/Art Director: Chris Cole Creative Director/Art Director: Vic Sanchez Associate Creative Director/Copywriter: Jon Morgan Art Director: Rachael Bottlinger Copywriter: Jessi Pelzel Designer: Kristen Walters Chief Production Officer: Jon Ellis Senior Content Producer: Ross Greenblat Group Business Director: Melanie Behling Account Director: Sarah Stahurski Account Supervisor: Taylor Knowles SVP, Partners & Platforms: Justin Hood Production Company: O Positive Director: Brian Billow Executive Producer: Ralph Laucella Director of Photography: Larry Fong Editorial: Cutters Editor: Grant Gustafson Producer: Heather Richardson Audio Post: Another Country Audio Engineer: Pete Erazmus Executive Producer: Tim Kohn Finish/EFX: Another Country Colorist: Luke Morrison Flame Artists: Randy McEntee Senior Producer: Erica Hilbert Alma V.P, Executive Creative Director: Jorge Murillo Creative Director: Juan Camilo Valdivieso Burrell Group V.P., Group Creative Director: Rebecca Williams Art Director: Mark Oosthuizen Copywriter: Dave Linne IW Group Group Creative Director: Sisi Zhang Creative Director: Harry Truong

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Grandma Gets a Life Thanks to McDonald's, Whose Chicken Tenders Are as Good as Hers

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