MCDONALD’S | WINTER TAKES ON COLORS | 2025
Repainting a Gray Winter, Together / McDonald's Poland "WINTER TAKES ON COLORS"
A McDonald's restaurant turned into one giant coloring book. What happens when you hand customers the power to add color during Poland's long winter?
The problem
Winter in Poland stays gray for almost half the year. McDonald's wanted to make people look forward even more to the Drwala burger, which returns every year during that season.
The insight
Don't fight winter—add color to it. And instead of the brand doing the coloring, hand that power over to customers. That's the one idea they bet everything on.
The idea
They turned an entire restaurant into a massive coloring page, with nothing but outlines drawn on every surface. The walls and floors were left totally white, and visitors filled them in with markers and crayons however they liked. Over the course of a week, thousands of hands gradually brought color to the whole space.
What happened
During the campaign week, McDonald's Poland recorded its highest sales and customer visits ever. Sales of the Drwala burger rose 30% compared to the previous year. At Cannes, the campaign won multiple Lions, including Gold.
Afterthought
No two people chose the same colors, yet somehow it all came together into one warm, colorful space. Customers did the coloring; McDonald's just provided the space. That division of roles says everything the brand wanted to say. Even a gray winter can be fun with a little color.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2025
