McDonald’s has spent decades creating more than just meals. Exclusive merchandise is prized long after the meal is finished, packaging sparks a memory, and the memorabilia is sought and traded by fans worldwide. This campaign took all of that history and turned it into something tangible, rooted in culture and fuelled by nostagia.

The Opportunity

Collecting has become real cultural currency, and McDonald’s has always been a part of that story. We built on that heritage by reimagining some of the brand’s most recognisable characters, menu moments and rituals as something fans could truly own. It had to feel authentic to collector culture while remaining unmistakably McDonald’s.

The Insight

McDonald’s memorabilia has always been collected, but that collecting behaviour had never been given a format, a structure, or a reward. Collector culture thrives on rarity, craft and community, and McDonald’s had all the materials; iconic characters, a rich visual archive, cult menu items spanning decades.

The Idea

McDonald’s memories, old and new, immortalised through the medium of Cards.

24 hand-illustrated cards across four categories – Characters, Fans, Retro and Legendary – each drawn entirely from the brand’s own universe. Every CARDS Meal comes with four cards and a guaranteed free food reward. Fans can build digital sets in the McDonald’s app to unlock more prizes and explore the lore behind each icon. At the heart of it all: a rare 25th card – a gold Ronald McDonald, worth £10,000, marking Ronald’s return for the first time in three decades.