日本マクドナルド | ティロリミックス｜YOASOBI「群青」×Vaundy「花占い」 | 2024
The sound of frying fries upstaged YOASOBI and Vaundy / McDonald's Japan "Tirori Mix"
McDonald's took the little "tirori♪" sound French fries make when they're done frying and mixed it into brand new songs by YOASOBI and Vaundy, turning it into actual music. And get this—this is already the second year they've done it.
The problem
Back in 2019, McDonald's ran a campaign called "#TiroriTune," which ended up racking up more than 150 million total views. Building on that success, 2023 saw the launch of the first "Tirori Mix," which turned that sound into a music content series. This project is the second installment.
The insight
According to Dentsu's Yusuke Sato, the whole idea started from a brief asking how to use the fries to boost McDonald's brand appeal among Gen Z. The first year was mostly an online effort, but for the second year, the team shifted direction, deciding to "break out into the real world and turn this into something concrete people could actually do." Throughout, the guiding question was simple: how far could they stretch the value of that one little frying sound?
The idea
The team created a music video that mashed up YOASOBI's "Gunjo" and Vaundy's "Hanauranai" with the "tirori♪" sound of fries frying. In the video, three French fry characters—the "Potato Brothers"—cheer on a college student chasing his dream of making it as a musician. Alongside the video, McDonald's ran the "Fries on Artist Photos Project," collaborating with up-and-coming artists across Japan, plus a pop-up event in Shibuya, making sure the campaign didn't end with just a video.
What happened
Within about two weeks of release, the video passed 6.34 million views. It went on to win the Grand Prix in the TV Commercial category at the 61st Galaxy Awards, and took Gold in the Film Craft category at Cannes Lions 2024.
Afterthought
Going from a fry machine's beep to an international ad award is such a big leap it's almost funny. But what makes this work is that they found a small, universal feeling—that little flicker of happiness everyone gets when they hear that fries-are-ready sound—and built it into something carrying real artists and real dreams. It's a reminder that the assets a company already has can be hiding in the most unexpected places.
Awards
- ACC Gold 2024
