McDonald's HK wows HKers with McNuggets art exhibition and metaverse experience

McDonald’s Hong Kong has partnered up with DDB Group Hong Kong to unveil McNuggets' 40th anniversary campaign, which includes launching a chicken McNuggets art exhibition and creating the first McDonald's-themed metaverse gaming experience.

This comes as chicken McNuggets have earned their place in pop culture over the past 40 years, with Usain Bolt famously ate 100 McNuggets each day of the Beijing Olympics, and when Rick and Morty revived an old McNuggets dipping sauce. The campaign aims to celebrate the brand's iconic status by creating a large-scale shared pop culture experience fueled by McNuggets.

The campaign first places McNuggets inside Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, available from 29 July. Done in collaboration with multi-hyphenate creative director Kevin Poon, the pop art exhibition dedicated entirely to the McNuggets will open at the Arts Pavilion – the "Coach McNugget Art World". The Arts Pavilion will be transformed into an immersive journey that fuses art, technology, and culture, featuring multinational creatives. 

The exhibition allows visitors to explore the past, present, and future of McDonald’s food icon, inviting visitors from all walks of life to experience the McNugget display. The exhibition begins with a time tunnel that takes visitors through the iconic history of McNuggets over the past 40 years, and then showcases 20 exhibits created by VANDYTHEPINK, Jon Burgerman, UFO907, Gyuhan Lee, and FrankNitty3000.

Each artist’s exhibit will present a series of artworks across different mediums, offering a unique perspective on the McNuggets. The exhibition will also include an interactive element that allows visitors to create their own McNugget shapes and laser tattoos, as well as a series of merchandise designed by VANDYTHEPINK featuring coach McNugget and his team. All proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities Hong Kong.

As part of the campaign, Virginia-based Korean American designer VANDYTHEPINK will debut a new edition of “Team McNuggets”, which will be seen across the exhibition and campaign. The team includes a reinvention of Coach McNugget, the iconic character from the brand’s marketing in the 80’s, his assistant, coach McNugget, as well as four characters on his "team" affectionately named after typical McNugget shapes, Ball, Bell, Boot and Bone.

The campaign then takes McNuggets to a gaming virtual world powered by Web3 done in collaboration with The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands. The “McNuggets Land” created in The Sandbox, will requestplayers to conquer a series of gamified challenges to have an opportunity to win an array of digital and physical prizes, including a year of free McNuggets.

Starting from 20 July, visitors to “McNuggets Land” can also engage with coach McNugget and his new nugget team of pop art characters. The McNugget shapes created by exhibition visitors will also be featured in the McNuggets Land.

In terms of medium of promotion, a series of online videos featuring the new McNuggets characters in a fun museum takeover story, with McNuggets art exhibition producer Poon starring as the security guard, introduce each of coach McNugget’s team members, helping Hong Kong get better acquainted with the loveable pop art characters. 

Commenting on the campaign, Tina Chao, chief marketing and digital customer experience officer of McDonald’s Hong Kong, said, “The McNuggets are often at the heart of fun sharing occasions, but it’s nice to see them getting the limelight on 40th birthday. This campaign is a celebration of the past but also aims to nurture brand love for the new generation by tapping into their passion points of art and gaming to create meaningful engagement.”

Meanwhile, Poon said: “It's truly a dream come true to curate a show for McDonald's Hong Kong […] Having the artistic freedom to curate a special exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of chicken McNuggets and spanning fine art, AR, and VR, is an incredible opportunity. I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to the show.”

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