The One Show
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Category
Social Post / Single
Annual ID
OS25_SM004G
Background
During the Paris 2024 Olympics the hardest challenge… was not only for the athletes, but also for brands: all here to get attention. 84 official partners, and a lot of unofficials.
But one single moment was enough for McDonald’s France to become the most talked-about of all the unofficial partners.
August 10th, 2024. 9.30pm.
More than 8 million French people are watching the basketball final, and not just any final: France - USA ...the proud host country against the best team in the world. David versus Goliath.
An incredible game, full of suspense… at least until one player gave the victory to USA with a 24-point performance. His name? Stephen Curry. And the least we can say is that he took great pleasure in taunting the French players and fans.
As soon as the game was over, social media was abuzz. Curry, Curry… the name was everywhere and drove the French crazy. All the French? yes! even the community manager of McDonald's France, the most American of companies.
He/she decided to join the conversation by explaining that they were considering removing the curry sauce from all McDonald's restaurants in France... at least for 4 years, until the next Olympics! And this was the starting point for the most unexpected activation of the summer.
But one single moment was enough for McDonald’s France to become the most talked-about of all the unofficial partners.
August 10th, 2024. 9.30pm.
More than 8 million French people are watching the basketball final, and not just any final: France - USA ...the proud host country against the best team in the world. David versus Goliath.
An incredible game, full of suspense… at least until one player gave the victory to USA with a 24-point performance. His name? Stephen Curry. And the least we can say is that he took great pleasure in taunting the French players and fans.
As soon as the game was over, social media was abuzz. Curry, Curry… the name was everywhere and drove the French crazy. All the French? yes! even the community manager of McDonald's France, the most American of companies.
He/she decided to join the conversation by explaining that they were considering removing the curry sauce from all McDonald's restaurants in France... at least for 4 years, until the next Olympics! And this was the starting point for the most unexpected activation of the summer.
Creative Idea
The idea is so simple : show in one Instagram post
the frustration of the French after the Olympic defeat by suggesting that McDonald's will withdraw the Curry sauce... simply because it has the same name as Stephen Curry.
At first, it was just a little joke, but it quickly became a huge topic of conversation.
the frustration of the French after the Olympic defeat by suggesting that McDonald's will withdraw the Curry sauce... simply because it has the same name as Stephen Curry.
At first, it was just a little joke, but it quickly became a huge topic of conversation.
Insights & Strategy
We needed to react quickly and give maximum visibility to our first post, so we used Instagram, one of our most powerful platforms with McDonald's France.
This allowed us to quickly reach and engage several thousand people, mainly French.
And then, it was on X that we decided to start the conversation with McDonald's US. We even went so far as to send them a box of curry sauces! This exchange between continents has allowed us to massively increase the visibility of our first contribution and, this time, to reach an international audience. Stephen Curry himself even replied to the Instagram post on the @mcdonaldsfrance account!
This allowed us to quickly reach and engage several thousand people, mainly French.
And then, it was on X that we decided to start the conversation with McDonald's US. We even went so far as to send them a box of curry sauces! This exchange between continents has allowed us to massively increase the visibility of our first contribution and, this time, to reach an international audience. Stephen Curry himself even replied to the Instagram post on the @mcdonaldsfrance account!
Execution
It all happened very fast, which makes this activation even crazier:
August 10th , 11.30pm: end of the game between France & USA
August 11th, 10am (a sunday morning in the middle of summer holidays): after a night of nightmares about Stephen Curry's baskets, we discover the volume of conversation and want to do our bit
August 11th, 2pm: McDonald’s France post on Instagram
August 12th: we created a conversation between McDonald’s France and McDonald’s US on X
August 12th and 13rd : the American and then the French media pick up the story.
A few days later, Stephen Curry took part in a famous American late show. The presenter had printed out McDonald's France's Instagram post and they talked about it again with humour. And that's how a little joke on an Instagram post went round the world !
August 10th , 11.30pm: end of the game between France & USA
August 11th, 10am (a sunday morning in the middle of summer holidays): after a night of nightmares about Stephen Curry's baskets, we discover the volume of conversation and want to do our bit
August 11th, 2pm: McDonald’s France post on Instagram
August 12th: we created a conversation between McDonald’s France and McDonald’s US on X
August 12th and 13rd : the American and then the French media pick up the story.
A few days later, Stephen Curry took part in a famous American late show. The presenter had printed out McDonald's France's Instagram post and they talked about it again with humour. And that's how a little joke on an Instagram post went round the world !
Results
This post is the best ROI ever for McDonald’s France :
- Less than 30min to create the post
- Zero media budget, everything was full organic
- 2.3B estimated impressions (BILLION!)
- More than 500K engagements
- 2.5K mentions and hundreds of press articles
And above all, a large number of comments amused by the joke, highlighting the accuracy of the McDonald's France CM and the brand's sense of humour. The best way to create preference among all basketball fans and much more!
- Less than 30min to create the post
- Zero media budget, everything was full organic
- 2.3B estimated impressions (BILLION!)
- More than 500K engagements
- 2.5K mentions and hundreds of press articles
And above all, a large number of comments amused by the joke, highlighting the accuracy of the McDonald's France CM and the brand's sense of humour. The best way to create preference among all basketball fans and much more!
2025 Awards
Total Points: 45
Gold Pencil
Credits
Agency
DDB Paris / Paris
Client / Brand
McDonald's / Paris
Art Director
Nicolas Pageaud
Chief Marketing Officer
Jean-Guillaume Bertola
Creative Director
Marion Thiery
CCO/CEO
Alexander Kalchev
Head of Social Media
Édouard Frapier
Business Director
Celine Male
CEO
Paul Ducré
Communication officer, social media & brand love
Geoffrey Tournevache
Deputy General Manager
Mathieu Bliguet
Marketing Director
Clement Brossard
Marketing Manager Brand and Family
Leïla Abdallaoui
Sociale Media Manager
Élise Lassimoulie
Jordan Blondel
Strategic planner
Cédric Ledoux
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