The Challenge
McDonald’s is one of the most memorable brands in everyday life. People love the brand so much, that they use its product names as passwords. McDonald's discovered data from ‘Have I Been Pwned’ that showed terms like ‘bigmac’, ‘frenchfries’ and ‘happymeal’ appear thousands of times in data breaches. But what you love, doesn’t make a good password. McDonald’s wanted to address this human flaw in a way that felt true to the brand, without becoming technical or preachy.
The Solution
On Change Your Password Day, McDonald’s turned its most recognizable products into passwords in an outdoor campaign, playfully reminding people that what is easy to remember is also easy for hackers to guess. By using its own brand assets as both the insight and the message, the campaign put a safety issue on the public agenda in a witty way.