Wholesome Japanese McDonald’s ads return with another “adorable” animation

The marketing team for McDonald’s Japan knows they’ve got a recipe for success. Their second wholesome animated ad has struck engagement gold.

McDonald’s has an unusual propensity for going viral. It can be for weird food trends like the Grimmace Shake or because someone has the audacity to take someone on a first date there.

Last month, the internet got a taste of how McDonald’s Japan does things when an animated advert exploded in popularity. The “wholesome” animation had millions of views and even inspired fan art (among other things…).

Now McDonald’s Japan has done it again with another adorable animation that, like the first, has taken the internet by storm. Posted to their Twitter account, it has audiences all over the world swooning.

While McDonald’s Japan’s last animated ad focused on a family sharing a meal, this one shows an awkward but cute young couple. The will they, won’t they romance of it all has touched the hearts of some internet denizens, and brought out the cynicism in others.

One user in the comments claimed that “McDonald’s Japan is winning hearts and souls with this”, while others longed nostalgically for “the simple days of high school romance”.

The warm feelings experienced by a majority of the audience were not unanimous however with some Americans feeling as if they were missing out. “So the Japanese get adorable/wholesome ads and Chicken Selects, but the US doesn’t?” asked one incredulously.

This most recent animation also sparked a rather one-sided debate about which of the two was better. The latest one seems to be the crowd favourite but we’ll let you decide for yourself.

One user suggested that “all McDonald’s should do their ads similar to this one” so we may see a trend arise.

We’ll be sure to let you know if any other global branches of McDonald’s decide to adopt anime in their Marketing.