The McRib® had been gone so long it became a legend. Fans debated whether it was real, obsessed over its return, and kept the myth alive. To bring it back, McDonald's turned years of anticipation into a campaign that got everyone talking.
#McRib trended at number 1 on X in the UK following the push ‘mistake’, with 28.1K posts and counting.
Our ‘accidental’ push message achieved an 18.82% click rate — 755% higher than the 2024 average of 2.2%.
Our email achieved a 49.6% open rate — over 70% higher than the average open rate of 28.5%.
Strategy: From accidental leak to national conversation
Sometimes a brief comes in that you just know is going to be big, and the return of the McRib® was definitely one of them. A culture-defining moment, something customers had been crying out for on social media for years, and a plan of action through the line that was all but guaranteed to create headlines.
When our clients came to us with the concept, we couldn’t wait to play our part in activating it.
It had been decades since the McRib® last made an appearance on the McDonald’s UK menu. So long, in fact, that it had become a thing of legend – a fan truth which became the core of the creative. Was it even real? Will it ever come back? The opportunity to tease customers was tantalising.
CRM gives us the opportunity to communicate with millions on a one-to-one basis, making it the perfect channel to play out the first phase of the campaign. To make that happen, we:
The solution: Give people something to talk about
Our activation began with an ‘accidental’ push message, email, and landing page. We knew it would cause a stir, but in reality, it caused a storm.
The push message boasted a huge 18.82% click rate — on average we’ve seen a 2.2% click rate for sends in 2024. Our email had a 49.6% open rate, compared to a 28.5% average open rate. People across the country were debating whether our push was a genuine mistake or clever ruse.
Next up was a series of emails, each designed to promote core menu items. But, of course, there was a twist. An eye-catching animation created a glitch effect, with the McRib® briefly flashing into existence. The hype was heating up and, once more, our work was making waves online.
From here on, the campaign was in full flow through the line, and we turned our attention to using our CRM expertise, innovation and insight to bring the campaign creative to life in email. The glitch effect became stronger, and the messaging more playful, as we transitioned from tease to launch.
The result: The talk of the town
Everyone was talking about it. #McRib trended at number 1 on X in the UK following the push ‘mistake’. Follow-up articles appeared in the Mirror, the Sun, and more — questioning whether the notification was a genuine error or the cleverest marketing move of the year.
It wasn’t just social media that got caught up in the hype — the press did too. Our ‘accidental’ push achieved an 18.82% click rate, 755% higher than the 2024 average. Our email open rate hit 49.6% — over 70% higher than the benchmark.
But beyond the numbers, the McRib® had become a moment. Proof that when CRM is brave enough to lead, it doesn’t just reach an audience — it moves one.
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