#ShaGabLovesMcdo: McDo Philippines' 2018 Valentine's Day Ad Revives The Adver Girl in Me


It was a typical Friday morning on Feb 9, 2018 when the world of local social media started buzzing about a one-minute ad by Mc Donald's Philippines. People mostly talked about the renowned pairing Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion (like this article by Koji Arsua) but for my take on it, I'd like to focus on how this short ad rekindled a bunch of advertising lessons I had in college.

Before anything else, here's Mcdo PH's 2018 Valentine's Day ad called, "Kumusta Ka?"



Now the first thought that came to mind was, "oh, shoot! That's insane!" because, well...


The simplest idea is, most of the time, the hardest to come up with. 


A few weeks prior to the release of Kumusta Ka, other big brands showed off their Valentine's Day ads as well. From plots colliding with past and present to doing a bunch of what-ifs, these ads lead viewers through well-constructed storylines. On the other hand, what Mcdo did is they brought up a pair we unknowingly wanted to see on screen again. It's been about 25 years since Philippine media had a taste of this pair (tambalang Ate Shawee and Gabby) so for Mcdo to suddenly drop the bomb like that, we're all just like,


Whooooooaaaaaaaaaaaa

Somewhere at the back of my mind, a bunch of processes for coming up with a good ad came echoing. In the chaos and excitement of wanting to produce something new, what is often neglected is the simplest idea. 

Take this Kumusta Ka ad for example. So... we've got a bunch of ideas happening here. We've got the whole Valentine's thing going on plus the "perfect pair" of Mcdo fries and Mc Chicken. I'm pretty sure they could have gone for something more hugot or something more appealing to the millennial crowd considering the platform, but instead, they chose an iconic pair to rekindle their on-screen appeal. That actually hits two birds with one stone because, one, they obviously got the Gen X going crazy and they got us, the Gen Y (okay, fine, millennials) talking about it, too! I mean... here I am, making an entire blog post about a one-minute ad. 

Notice how the ad also has minimal dialogue? Instead, they used the song "Kumusta Ka?" and allowed the lyrics to speak for the situation - initially awkward, progresses to something a little bit weird, but eventually turns to something light and natural. Everything then ends with Mcdo's brand tune that goes "papara-papa~"

The ad is a minute long. It barely has words. Barely even has anything at all, other than a pair that once was, trying to speak for the "perfect pair" big idea. 

Can we also admire how Mcdo, along with the agency, decided to boast this piece of insanely amazing work right when the hype of the other brands' ads had already calmed down? 

COME ON, GUYS. EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.

Or should we say.... pair....fect?

Kudos to Leo Burnett Manila for this amazing campaign! You made an adver girl's adver heart happy. (See Adobo Magazine's article about it here)

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