McDonald's, W+K Cleverly Enlist Celebs for Super Bowl Pregame Ad

McDonald’s hasn’t bought an in-game Super Bowl commercial for Sunday, but will still be involved—along with some celebrities—in the day’s festivities. 

The fast-food giant will air a 30-second pregame spot that cleverly ropes in a handful of celebrities. Wieden + Kennedy New York, which was named lead U.S. creative agency on McDonald’s in September, created the commercial.

W+K reached out to the celebs—all of them McDonald’s fans—to ask for their typical McD’s orders. Including the more cartoony characters like the Big Bad Wolf and Dracula adds a playful touch as well, and allows the agency to venture into more Oreo-ish territory with the design.

They also nicely tied into the Super Bowl itself by featuring 49ers and Chiefs stars, though the two Chiefs players (Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce) are actually playing on Sunday, while the 49ers stars (Joe Montana and Jerry Rice) are long since retired. And yes, Mahomes really is obsessed with ketchup.

The spot digs into pop culture, but in a restrained way. A rep for the brand tells Muse that despite the “temptation to go ‘big’ with the ad spot, McDonald’s wanted to keep it simple and grounded in the fans and the individual orders they place every day.”

Future work will “continue to tap into the latent emotion of the brand,” the rep adds.