マクドナルド | 家族といっしょに。「約束のハッピーセット」篇 | 2023
The Dad Watching His Son Train Would Probably Buy It Even If He Can't Put His Face in the Water / McDonald's "The Promised Happy Meal"
All I cared about was "what's in the Happy Meal right now," but the opening shot already had me hooked. A 60-second ad where the setting, the cast, and the direction all click together perfectly.
The problem
This is the sixth installment in the "Together With Family" series. The backdrop is a rise in children who struggle with swimming, partly due to fewer gym classes during the pandemic and partly due to the extreme heat. The ad follows a parent and child taking on a promotion test at a swimming school.
The insight
The sharp insight here is that many families make Happy Meals conditional on "trying your best." According to art director Tokuno, what mattered behind the scenes was the idea of a "promise" — but you just know this dad would have bought it for his son even if he couldn't put his face in the water. Unconditional love is quietly there all along.
The idea
When the father, played by Shota Sometani, sees his son too scared to put his face underwater, he makes a promise on the way home: they'll work on it together. From that day on, the two practice in the bathtub and in a vinyl pool in the yard. On the day of the test, the son passes, and father and son head to McDonald's on the way home. A Happy Meal if you try your best — that's the promise between them.
What happened
The music is Yumi Matsutoya's "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara." It aired nationwide on terrestrial TV starting August 8, 2023.
Afterthought
Tokuno said, "The puffed-up face when he puts it in the water is just so cute." Sometani also commented, "It has the kind of warmth everyone has felt either as a child or as a parent." Even though it's framed as a promise, the truth is the dad had already decided to buy it. Wrapped in that kind of kindness, children grow up.
