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It's Arizona or Bust for McDonald's x Nike Collab
Devin Booker and Ronald get chummy
You want weird with that?
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker recently shared some Q-time in the desert with Ronald McDonald. The pair hyped Devin’s McD’s-inspired sneaker in off-kilter social shorts from Wieden+Kennedy.
The shoe’s design and turquoise colors reference the famous Sedona, Ariz., McDonald’s on U.S. Highway 89A—a favorite of Devin’s. Ads suggest more than they reveal, offering quick (Mc-)nuggets of action and imagery to keep Gen Z curious and engaged.
Director Noah Dillon shot the film around Sedona. “He lives in the Southwest and already had a visual language that felt right for this world,” W+K N.Y. copywriter Grady Linnihan tells Muse.
“A lot of the campaign was built around Devin’s actual connection to the place. So, the shoot felt loose and personal from the start. Devin was involved creatively and even shot some of the camcorder footage himself. Some of his friends and family were around the set, which helped keep it from feeling like a giant brand production.”
“Even though the shoe is releasing globally, we wanted the campaign to feel very local to Sedona,” Linnihan says. “We spent a lot of time looking at the typography and signage around town, especially the turquoise jewelry stores, roadside pawn shops and old storefronts that share this weird faded desert look. That became a big part of the campaign’s design language.”
“It was important that nothing felt too polished,” Linnihan says. “Devin genuinely likes old cameras, VHS footage, film photography, all of that stuff. So the campaign tried to stay in that world instead of overcomplicating it.”
Indeed, the material plays somewhat like an art-house found footage flick (shot by David Lynch). Scale and proportion slip in and out of phase, adding to the mystery, with just enough sun-blasted edginess to please.
The approach has been compelling, with combined views for the handful of very short clips climbing into the six figures and generating considerable chatter.
