McDonald’s Jumps into the Metaverse
The fast-food giant celebrates the fashion brand Lunar New Year on Sunday.* announced that it has collaborated with Humberto Leon, co-founder of Opening Ceremony, to create an interactive exhibit on the metaverse.
Known as “McDonald’s Hall of Zodiac: 2022 Lunar New Year with Humberto Leon,” the exhibition presents a gallery of 12 Zodiac signs. Visitors will see virtual sculptures inspired by traditional Chinese cork carving; These sculptures will appear lifelike and three-dimensional using special effects and virtual reality.
The move is McDonalds’ latest marketing move in the metaverse, a three-dimensional virtual world focused on social connection. The company has taken a few steps to show itself off in the virtual world, but this Lunar New Year collaboration is the fast-food giant’s biggest move to date.
Hall of Zodiac will be available on AltspaceVR and Spatial virtual reality social platforms until February 15. Here, visitors will be able to see a gallery that houses Leon’s work, and access horoscopes that predict the coming year based on their birth year and zodiac animal. McDonald’s also collaborated with multicultural advertising agency IW Group on the campaign. The exhibit will also feature touches from feng shui expert and content creator Cliff Tan.
The exhibition can be viewed on both mobile and desktop devices.
Leon made a statement about the project. “The Lunar New Year is not only a time to celebrate with family and friends, it also provides an excellent opportunity for us Asian Americans to share our cultural heritage with people in the diverse communities we call home.” He commented and added:
“Starting the Lunar New Year with McDonald’s by emphasizing the creativity and innovation of the Asian American community makes me proud to offer a true expression of my identity and the influences that have shaped it, which I know many will relate to.”
Elizabeth Campbell, Senior Director of Cultural Engagement at McDonald’s, said the year is the right time for her company to enter the Metaverse, as the Year of the Tiger is a symbol of “courage, strength and confidence.”
“We are honored to be able to celebrate the Lunar New Year with art, and we hope our fans will enjoy this celebration experience with us.”
McDonald’s and Leon are also planning a television commercial with Leon’s reflections on Lunar New Year traditions and his distinctive identity. The ad airs on Asian news channels nationwide in English, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.
McDonald’s will also be distributing red envelopes featuring Leon’s Year of the Tiger design at participating restaurants in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta starting Tuesday.
McDonalds seems to be warming up to the crypto community. The company recently took its marketing game to the next level by trolling the cryptocurrency community with a viral tweet after the massive market crash.
In fact, a fictitious cryptocurrency called Grimacecoin had an incredible increase as a result of the conflict between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the fast-food chain. Later, the company’s response to Musk disappointed the crypto community and was seen as a missed opportunity.
*Lunar New Year: Also called the Chinese New Year, the festival is one of the most important holidays in the most populous country. It marks the beginning of the new moon cycle and the celebrations can last up to 15 days.