The Frork
McDonald's Signature Crafted Recipes sandwiches had a huge problem (that we made up), the delicious toppings were piled so high that they were bound to fall all over the place.
So, naturally we made up a solution to a problem we made up—we created The Frork. Part fries. Part Fork. 100% something nobody asked for.
Pitched by the best.
What better way to promote something no one knew they needed than with veteran TV pitchman, Anthony Sullivan? Together we created the commercial above and a special 800 number, loaded with easter eggs, to get thousands of people free Signature Crafted Recipe meals and the (un)necessary Frorks to enjoy them.
And the people rejoiced!
Or more accurately, they laughed. Thousands came in restaurant to pick up a Frork. Conan joked about it in his monologue. SNL’s Weekend Update weighed in. It trended #9 on Twitter. Japan saw it come out in the U.S. and wanted one, so McDonald’s made it for the Japanese market as well. Same for China.
But most importantly, the client was thrilled. Everyone from Buzzfeed to the Today Show covered it. It became an Effies Finalist, PRWeek Best Consumer Launch Shortlist, Gold SABRE Consumer Marketing Shortlist, Editor's Pick, Creativity, and maybe most important of all…it allowed people everywhere to eat their toppings with dignity.
