Problem
McDonald’s wanted to say “Merry Christmas,” but the holidays arrived in a tense, polarized climate. People felt cautious, hopeless, braced for things to go wrong. Ignoring that mood felt tone-deaf. The challenge was to acknowledge it without killing the Christmas spirit.

Insight
McDonald’s is one of the few shared grounds in Georgia across class, politics, and values. Everyone orders from the same menu and gets the same experience — a rare kind of neutrality in a divided country. In that moment, this wasn’t just a brand strength. It was something McDonald’s could use to bring people closer.

Strategy
Platform: “What Brings Us Together.”
Get: Urban Georgians who increasingly looked at each other with suspicion
To: Remember that they still share more than they think
By: Bringing them together around simple, familiar moments of enjoyment