Leo Burnett and McDonald’s turn up the heat with new ‘Make It Hot’ platform

Following the success of last year’s ‘hottest drop’, McDonald’s and Leo Burnett are turning up the heat once again with a new campaign and creative platform, ‘McDonald’s but Make it Hot’.

The platform marks the return of the fan-favourite McSpicy® x Frank’s RedHot® chicken burger and introduces a brand-new dip: Frank’s RedHot® Mayo - as fans are challenged to bring the heat to any item on the McDonald’s menu.

The campaign launches with a 30” AV spot, opening on a McSpicy billboard before it’s engulfed in flames, revealing the new, spicier line-up beneath. Set to “Danger! High Voltage” by Electric Six, the film sets a tongue-in-cheek tone for the brand’s spiciest collaboration yet.

That energy carries through into OOH, where McDonald’s hijacks its formats with RedHot® Mayo lid takeovers of classic breakfast ads, signalling that no part of the menu is safe from the spice. Flyposting brings a more raw, street-level aesthetic to the campaign, with flame-drenched visuals and stripped-back copy. The new visual identity was developed by POPDesign, Leo Burnett’s in-house design studio.

To drive participation, McDonald’s has also created an influencer-led social content series, the ‘But Make It Hot Challenge’, produced with the production company behind TopJaw, Detail Films. The series sees four creators take on a blind-dipping challenge, matching mystery menu items with the new Frank’s RedHot® Mayo. The content, including cutdowns and teasers, will run across TikTok and Instagram throughout the campaign.

Building anticipation from early media and fan engagement, Red Consultancy is now turning up the heat with an immersive PR, influencer, and press-tasting event, in partnership with Fnatic. Hosting over 300 content creators and media across gaming, music, fashion and food, the experience will allow guests the chance to experience the full ‘Make it Hot’ platform first-hand. Attendees will be among the first to try the new McSpicy® x Frank’s RedHot® and Frank’s RedHot® Mayo dip, served fresh from McDonald’s Airstream alongside favourite menu items.

The campaign momentum will continue post-launch, expanding on the influencer-led content series, challenging creators to ‘Make It Hot’ in their own way. Further plans are in place for McFleet to pop up at key moments, keeping the heat alive and bringing the experience directly to consumers.

Inside restaurants, the heat continues with updated tray liners, kiosk screens and motion boards, inviting customers to customise their order with the new spicy dip.

Ben Hooper, creative director at Leo Burnett UK, said: “With the return of the McSpicy® x Frank’s RedHot® and the release of the spicy mayo dip, you can now make everything at McDonald’s hot… So that's what we did: setting fire to our billboards, spicy takeovers of our own breakfast ads and a nationwide challenge to make anything on the menu deliciously spicy. Except perhaps a McFlurry...”

Credits

CAMPAIGN TITLE: ‘McDonald’s but Make It Hot’
CLIENT: McDonald’s
CMO: Ben Fox
MARKETING DIRECTOR: Matt Reischauer
HEAD OF MARKETING: FOOD & BEVERAGES: Ben Sherburn
MARKETING MANAGER: Jo Conlon
BRAND MANAGER: Annabel Ranken
CAMPAIGN EXECUTIVE: Kara Minnis
CAMPAIGN ASSISTANT: Dina Shalaby
ADVERTISING AGENCY: Leo Burnett
CCO: Mark Elwood
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Andrew Long and James Millers
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Ben Hooper
SENIOR CREATIVE: Mickey Chan
CREATIVE DESIGN DIRECTOR: Phil Bosher
SENIOR DESIGNERS: Gurcan Ergur, Tomek Drozdowski, Matt Manlove, Milan Mezei, Bey Redding-O’Brien
PLANNING TEAM: Tom Sussman, Hamish Cameron, Alisya Rozhan
MANAGING PARTNER: Layla Potter
BUSINESS DIRECTOR: Bella Bertolotti
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Charlotte Crawley
SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER: Natasha Cawley
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Dominic Thomas
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Zoe Buchalter
PROJECT MANAGER: Omee Ali, Laura Taylor
AGENCY SENIOR PRODUCER: Georgia Morris
AGENCY CONTENT PRODUCER: Joseph Walker
MEDIA BUYING AGENCY: OMD
MEDIA PLANNER: Lewis Michael, Stephanie Holman
PR AGENCY: RED, Lucy Hird, Scarlette Matthews, Barbara Watson
FILM PRODUCTION COMPANY: MJZ, Untold
DIRECTOR: Joy Kilpatrick
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Mike Heath, Julia Fetterman
PRODUCER: Daniel Gay, Gem Souleyman
PRODUCTION MANAGER: Spike Elwood, Harriet Salmon
EDIT: Search Party, MSE
EDITOR: Pete Fullarton & Becca Spaven
POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Black Kite
VFX SHOOT SUPERVISOR: George Brunt
VFX LEAD: Jonny Freeman
COLOURIST: George Kyriacou
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Hannah Ruddleston
SENIOR PRODUCER: Alizee Levrino, Hazel Gibson
AUDIO POST-PRODUCTION COMPANY: Harbor Pictures
SOUND ENGINEER: George Castle
PRODUCER: Savannah King
SOCIAL CONTENT PRODUCTION SERIES
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Detail Film
DIRECTOR: Greg Barnes, Will Warr
PRODUCER: Helen Thomas
EDIT: Detail Films
EDITOR: Jess Wood
PRODUCER: Helen Thomas