National French Fry Day: Using Americans' love of French fries as an excuse to gather
The Situation
McCain is a global category leader, but in the US, most people had never heard of the brand. As the new fiscal year approached, we faced a crossroads for the business – we needed to create immediate momentum with American consumers to prove the brand's potential and instill confidence within our global leadership.
The Ask
Our goal was two-fold. We needed to land McCain's new strategic positioning by making American consumers feel like our fries are bringing joy and excitement back to family dinners. Internally, we also needed to set the stage for marketing by demonstrating that McCain could drive significant cultural buzz and consumer demand in the US, even on a scrappy budget.
The Challenge
McCain's brand is built on family togetherness. However, our launch was set for June and July – a time when families are busy with summer plans and rarely sitting down together. With the traditional "family holiday" season months away, we had to create a reason for families to gather when they were most scattered.
The Solution
In the great American tradition, we decided to manufacture a holiday.
We hijacked National French Fry Day (July 12th) – a day that existed on the calendar but no one knew existed. By treating it with the scale of a major holiday, we gave families a reason to reunite and bond over a shared love of fries in the middle of July.
The Execution
We launched "Operation: Make National French Fry Day a Real Holiday" in four phases:
Phase 1: Enlist a hero. We cast comedy legend Eric Wareheim as a National French Fry Day super fan. He starred in festive videos that taught Americans how to properly celebrate this new national holiday.
Phase 2: Amplify hype. We partnered with a mix mega and micro influencers to share their own National French Fry Day traditions, turning our Hallmark holiday into a grassroots social movement.
Phase 3: Rally our community. We transformed McCain's social channels into our holiday HQ, keeping the excitement high with interactive countdowns and "holiday meal" inspiration.
Phase 4: Create a landmark. We built the world's first "French Fry Holiday House" in Chicago. It was a two-story house covered in fry-themed decorations, giant inflatables, and even professional carolers to bring the holiday to life in the real world.
The Results
The campaign generated 245 million impressions and 193 million video views, confirming that Americans were interested in embracing a new summertime family tradition.
We saw 3.8 million social engagements, with the Holiday House and video assets driving a 35% lift in ad recall, far exceeding industry benchmarks and revealing that our "scrappy" holiday resonated more than traditional summer advertising.
We hit our mark with parents (ages 35-44), seeing a 25% increase in ad recall and a 13% increase in purchase consideration.
And brand interest translated into digital action, with a 60% surge in web traffic and a 21% growth in our social community, providing the internal proof to satisfy global leadership and validating McCain's US market potential.