Soccer Royalty Visits McDonald's for FIFA Collectible Cups

With Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Beckham and more

Soccer superstars are just like the rest of us. For example, they enjoy picking up FIFA collectible cups at McDonald’s. Of course, their faces decorate such souvenirs. But we’ll all get our chance someday—if we don’t forget to practice.

Wieden+Kennedy’s World Cup campaign for the eatery, directed with bouncy humor by Stacy Wall, seeks to portray a roster of pitch icons as die-hard McDonald’s fans. So, instead of chasing cultural moments with pulse-pounding game footage or dramatic AI F/X, spots deliver comic vignettes that tie the brand to the World Cup.

It’s all about bringing “shared joy” to life “through our food, our experiences and the ways fans connect with the game,” says MCD’s global CMO Morgan Flatley.

Does the campaign fulfill this mission? Well, everyone loves collectible cups—so for McD’s and FIFA, that’s a no-brainer. Plus, the players exude beaucoup charisma as they riff and joke around during the run-up to soccer’s biggest showcase.

If only Ronaldinho hadn’t kicked their ball way up onto the Golden Arches…

Also appearing: Lamine Yamal, David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Son Heung-min, Christian Pulisic, Santiago Giménez and Alphonso Davies. There’s a nostalgia angle, too, as the cups themselves, from Belgian art collective iLovedust, draw inspo from McD’s beloved “Dream Team” line from the ’90s.

“We wanted the work to feel authentic and we realized early on that even though McDonald’s has been a sponsor for decades, we’re not an intrinsic part of football,” W+K senior brand strategist Pat Hardy tells Muse. “So instead of inauthentically inserting McDonald’s in the World Cup, we brought the World Cup to McDonald’s.”

As for the players, “We sent them each a list of questions about their relationship with McDonald’s,” adds agency creative Jessica Ghersi. “Their answers inspired a lot of this work. Pulisic puts fries in his burger. Beckham really is a Big Mac guy. Ronaldinho’s favorite character is Ronald.” (A tad on the nose, but OK.)

W+K creative director Paddy Treacy shares some tales from filming:

● “There was a real mutual respect between Lamine Yamal and Ronaldinho, which inspired us to write specific ideas for the two of them. It was genuinely fun watching them together on set. They had a great time, especially trading keepy-uppies and enjoying the moment.”

● “Yamal had just arrived, and was walking around the back of the McDonald’s to get to set. He spotted Grimace for the first time from afar and he lit up like a kid pulling out a Happy Meal toy. It was really special to see the most celebrated football in the world react the way any of us would.”

● “Our director, Stacy Wall, was looking for a very specific emotional reaction in one of our spots. So, he brought some extremely rare vintage football cards of one of Beckham’s favorite clubs for David to look at, to get a genuine first-time reaction on camera. Beckham is such a great actor, we really didn’t need to do that. But it was such a cute moment.”

Promos break this week across TV, social, digital, streaming and experiential platforms.