As 2025 unfolds, we’ve been reflecting on our favourite campaigns that captured our attention in 2024; McDonald’s ‘The Meal’ campaign and the rebranding of La Vieille Ferme wine.
McDonald’s ‘The Meal’ Campaign:
In May 2024, McDonald’s launched a campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week; ‘The Meal’. This initiative centred around children’s emotional well-being, aiming to spark important conversations about mental health among families and the wider public.
By collaborating with BBC Children in Need and football legend Rio Ferdinand, McDonald’s demonstrated a genuine commitment to mental health. The campaign’s research revealed some troubling statistics: nearly half of UK children (48%) feel pressured to appear happy all the time, a message that’s often at odds with their true emotions. This pressure, coupled with the fact that 74% of parents try to stop their children from feeling sad, highlighted the need for a wider dialogue on emotional expression.
In response to these findings, McDonald’s took a bold step — they temporarily removed the iconic smile from their packaging. In place of the usual design, children were given sheets of stickers depicting a variety of emotions, encouraging them to express how they truly felt.
The campaign successfully positioned McDonald’s as a brand that cares deeply about family well-being. It used its significant platform to support families and promote open communication, making it an essential part of the conversation around children’s mental health. Through the creative use of visual design, celebrity endorsement, and strategic partnerships, ‘The Meal’ proved to be one of the most impactful campaigns of 2024, not just in terms of marketing, but in shaping meaningful social change.
La Vieille Ferme’s ‘Chicken Wine’ Rebrand:
On the other end of the spectrum, La Vieille Ferme — a wine brand that’s been around since the 1970s — reinvented itself in 2024 through an ingenious rebrand that captured the attention of a younger, social media-savvy generation.
In September 2024, La Vieille Ferme released a limited-edition rebrand in collaboration with Sainsbury’s, officially marketing the wine as ‘The Chicken Wine’. The campaign wasn’t your typical polished marketing effort; instead, it leaned into the viral, consumer-driven nature of TikTok trends. This was a campaign that embraced the chaos and fun of social media, tapping into a cultural moment to drive brand awareness and sales.
To amplify the buzz, the brand used influencer content and a strategic hashtag campaign. Rather than planning every detail in advance, La Vieille Ferme allowed the trend to evolve organically, fostering an authentic connection with its audience. The campaign was bold, playful, and confident — and it worked. The rebrand helped the wine stand out on crowded supermarket shelves, becoming a cultural phenomenon in the process. The results speak for themselves: Sainsbury’s reported a staggering 96% increase in sales of La Vieille Ferme Rosé, with much of that growth attributed to the wine’s viral status.
Both McDonald’s ‘The Meal’ and La Vieille Ferme’s ‘Chicken Wine’ rebrand demonstrated the power of authenticity and innovation in marketing.
In an age where consumers expect brands to be more than just companies selling products, these campaigns exemplified the impact that thoughtful, bold marketing can have — not just on sales, but on shaping conversations and connecting with audiences in a more human way. If 2024’s campaigns are any indication, the future of marketing will be one that values purpose, creativity, and cultural relevance above all else.
Sources:
https://www.mcdonalds.com/gb/en-gb/newsroom/article/mental-health-awareness-week-happymeal.html
https://www.famouscampaigns.com/2024/10/la-vieille-ferme-rebrands-to-the-chicken-wine/
https://www.bloom-london.com/news/bloom-thinks-the-unassuming-power-of-the-chicken
Blog Cover photo: antoniosolano/istockphoto.com
