McDonald's celebrates 50 years by remembering its treasured birthday parties

If you're a kid of the 1970s or '80s, you'll remember a glorious time when the epitome of a children's birthday party was spent at McDonald's. The famous Ronald McDonald, as many cheeseburgers as your little face could devour, and a special cordoned-off area just for the kids. Heaven. At least, that was what I thought back then.

For those who love a good helping of nostalgia, that era is now honoured once more in a campaign to celebrate the fast food chain's 50th anniversary. It kicks off today with a 60-second spot filmed in the Woolwich McDonald's restaurant in London, making it another brand to follow Premier Inn's lead in using one of its own spots as the primary film location.

It's no surprise, really. Both ads have the brilliant Leo Burnett behind them, dishing out that authentic charm it's becoming renowned for. And Woolwich just happens to be the very first McDonald's site that opened its doors in the UK fifty years ago. The team painstakingly transformed every detail in that first restaurant to transform it back to its '80s glory. Remember the cheeseburger stools and apple pie tree? Yep, they're back. Along with a mural featuring iconic characters such as Hamburglar, Birdie, Mayor McCheese and Grimace. Perfect.

Directed by Fenn O'Meally, the film shows a young boy losing himself in the rhythm of the iconic '80s hip-hop track 'Know How' by British-born rapper Young MC. As the film progresses, the dancing proves contagious, and the rest of the party joins in. It ends with a montage of restaurants from the past 50 years, inviting all of us to celebrate this special milestone.

But it doesn't stop there. The campaign hits many other touchpoints and includes some retro OOH posters by award-winning illustrator Sofie Birkin that act as birthday party invites. The five original artworks are each based on a different era of McDonald's history, so there's sure to be something that resonates with all of us.

There's even some exclusive 50th-anniversary merchandise up for grabs, available later this summer, initially on McDonald's rewards scheme. The 'I Had My Birthday Party at McDonald's' collection is based on the iconic slogan from the 1980s and patterns, prints and characters from the past. You can expect things like stripe sweats, bomber jackets, printed denim, birthday t-shirts, scrunchies and even a McDonaldland Rubix cube. Hell, yes.

To add further engagement, Leo Burnett and McDonald's have taken to social media, sharing tutorials for the hero dancer's moves, nostalgic 'fit cheeks' of vintage McDonald's crew uniforms, and other announcements yet to be made.

Later this month, the campaign will also be rolled out to its restaurants. There'll be retro birthday stylings, an "ultimate special-edition party food menu, " including a Double Big Mac, a limited-edition Birthday Cake Donut, and what the brand playfully describes as "one last big surprise" in the coming weeks.

However, as we all know, a decent birthday celebration isn't complete without a party bag. A digital activation developed by The Marketing Store within the McDonald's app invites users to open a digital 'Party Bag' to get the Birthday Cake Donut and even exclusive merchandise for the superfans. It's all designed to evoke the nostalgia of McDonald's from the past.

"Our campaign celebrating our 50th birthday taps into the countless memories we've made with our fans," says Matt Reischauer from McDonald's, "and, of course, invites everyone to make new ones. We wanted to make it possible for everyone across the nation to celebrate...with a few surprises along the way. Who doesn't love a surprise at a birthday party?"