Increase brand love with Gen Z and Millennials through an unexpected, culturally grounded campaign that captivates and excites.
We created a unique McDonald’s experience that bravely fused their family-friendly world with that of the biggest, most violent Netflix show of all time – Squid Game.
‘Dare To Play’ recreated one of the most iconic challenges from the show – the Dalgona Candy Challenge – and invited our Australian audiences to play.
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By merging nostalgia, playful competition, and fan engagement, ‘Dare To Play’ offered an unforgettable experience that connected deeply with our audience. We recreated the exact honeycomb candies from the show, only instead of the challenging Umbrella shape, we made an even harder Golden Arches.
Players could participate by purchasing the exclusive Squid Game Meal, which included a candy shape and QR code which granted access to a mobile game where they must race against time to complete the challenge, for a chance to win exclusive co-branded merchandise – and a grand prize of $100,000 for one lucky challenger.
The campaign drove fan engagement through a range of activations, including restaurant experiences, OOH, social media, fandom pages, and a Dalgona Candy Challenge event at World Square Sydney, where the public participated in a Squid Game-themed playzone under the watchful eye of the Pink Guards.
The campaign also features an immersive film that reimagines key moments from Squid Game’s iconic Dalgona Candy scene, including the original voice of Jeon Young-Soo (전영수) as the Game Instructor.
Incredible sales: 35% above projections (Squid Game Big Mac Meal)
Media gone wild: 127 press articles generated, reaching 13.9 million people
Insane TikTok views: 19,400% above industry benchmark
Meta Overperformance: +737% above industry benchmark
Over 35K entries including 7,000 successfully completing the ‘M’ candy