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Was 2024 a good year for fast food ads? Absolutely! We’ve seen highly original campaigns, self-aware celebrities, hilarious plots, and high-budget commercials. Not to say that we expected anything less. Fast food ads never disappoint and it’s time to share the best entries of 2024.
1. Treat Yourself and Your Grandma to a Grandma McFlurry – McDonald’s
Why: sometimes a fast food ad can touch the depths of your heart and make you shed a tear or two. McDonald’s did it in 2024 with their “Treat Yourself and Your Grandma” campaign. The chain introduced a special limited-time Grandma McFlurry for you to have with your Granny. To celebrate the fact in a nice manner, McDonald’s also produced this beautiful commercial celebrating grandmothers around the world.
The result is a heartwarming piece of fast food advertising that gently promotes spending more time with your nana. Be it with McFlurry or anything else. The ad is soundtracked by the great “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by Remi Wolf. Wholesome? You bet.
2. Believe In Chicken – KFC
Why: cults have had a field day in food advertising recently. We wrote about Arby’s Kyle MacLachlan bonkers commercial where the Twin Peaks actor plays a leader of The Order of Potato Cakes. Now it’s KFC that tackles the topic of belief. But if with Arby’s it was about the potato cake, here the god almighty is… chicken. Created by Mother agency, the commercial would look like an ordinary music video save for one fact. The people are dancing to the chicken. Considering what KFC does with chickens, the premise is quite macabre. But hey, maybe this particular chick survives.
3. The New Footlong Cookie. Best Sidekick Ever? – Subway
Why: Subway went big in 2024 in fast food advertising and employed not one but two superstars for a campaign. You would think that the brand focuses on promoting its sandwiches with such guests, but no. Subway announces the footlong cookies (have you ever had one before? Neither did we). But here are Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs telling us to have one.
Although this fast food ad is only 15 seconds long, there is drama. Mahomes says that the cookie is the best sidekick he’s ever had and Kelce is pissed at him for that admission.
4. Dunkin’Terns “Acting Briefing” – Dunkin’
Why: Dunkin’ has treated us to some of the best celebrity ad campaigns in recent years. The fast food brand doesn’t stop in 2024. This time it’s focused on Gen Z and employs American and Argentine actress Maia Reficco and TikTok comedian Corporate Natalie to serve as the voice of the generation alongside slightly older Will Arnett. The video is a part of the “Dunkin’Terns” series of commercials that are perfectly suited to be memified and TikTokified. And while the ads are regular hilarious Dunkin’ advertising, we’re placing them on our list for the effort.
5. Taco Tuesday – Taco Bell
Why: one of the most unexpected pairings in the fast food ads comes from Taco Bell. The brand unites LeBron James and Jason Sudeikis to eat tacos together and reminisce about spending a Taco Twosday. And what can we say, they have weird dad chemistry. The whole thing feels like a well-done SNL skit (Sudeikis is an alum). LeBron James proves once again that he’s great at acting in comedic roles. Much like he did alongside Lil Wayne in that Beats by Dre Pill ad. Oh yes, the ad is for a $5 Taco Discovery Box featuring the new Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco. How can you not have one now?
6. The Wait Is Over – Popeyes
Why: Popeyes leveled up their marketing in 2024 giving us one of the best fast food ads of the year and a solid Super Bowl entry. This one you’ll definitely remember. Ken Jeong (The Hangover and Community) plays a man who’s brought back to life from cryogenic sleep. The Popeyes staff “unfreezed” him to make an important announcement. “There’s a better chicken wing at Popeyes,” the doctor says to which Jeong’s character responds “the sailor man?” Now you’ve got to applaud such a level of brand self-awareness.
We see our hero encountering all the novelties of 2024 like drone delivery, self-driving cars, “a pack for your fanny,” robot vacuums, massage chairs, and scooters. The ad is hilarious and Ken Jeong really delivers on this one.
7. Festive Chipotle Fajitas Sizzling on the Grill For 3 Hours Straight – Chipotle
Why: Here is the last of the best fast food ads 2024. This is not technically an ad. It’s Chipotle publishing a video on their official YouTube account of fajitas sizzling on the grill “for 3 hours straight.” And this is what the internet is all about. Chipotle gets it. It may not be for everyone, but it’s the meta advertising and we’re here for it. The video is accompanied by the sound of sizzling fajitas and it sounds like a delicious symphony of flavors.
Here’s our previous list of the best fast food ads 2023
Good old fast food ads. From the dawn of advertising, they’ve been holding a special place in the marketing lore. Often bold, bizarre, and bombastic. Sometimes over-the-top and offensive. Always amusing to look at. Here’s what 2023 has given us in terms of fast food advertising.
1. bigger-er – Subway
Why: one of the most surprising hits in 2023 comes from Subway Australia. Who thought that a simple photo of a burger and a sandwich could be so effective? The dynamics here are created by zooming in on a “talking” meal. The conversation is hilarious. In a span of just 15 seconds, a bigger sandwich asks a smaller burger if it’s “lost” and suggests help in finding its parents. The burger tells the sandwich in a thick Aussie accent that it is a “fully-grown burger” and doesn’t need any assistance. We don’t ask for more, really. It’s perfect like this.
2. Fancy a McDonald’s? – McDonald’s
Why: in the world of aggressive advertising, this McDonald’s creation feels very light-hearted and breezy. The story is quite straightforward. The whole office craves a McDonald’s. The grand escape starts with one worker and then the wave engulfs everyone in the building. All of it while raising eyebrows to the classic 80s “Oh Yeah” tune by Swiss electronic wizards Yello.
The commercial is cozily old-school and immediately gets you into the Oh Yeah mood. And it’s guaranteed that you will raise your eyebrows at some point too.
3. Cardi B & Offset Date – McDonald’s
Why: it’s great to see mega-rich celebrities pretending they are humans just like us. The 2023 Super Bowl entry from McDonald’s is precisely about that. The execution is flawless, though. That’s why it’s among the best fast food ads this year.
The plot? Cardi B and Offset (to those who don’t know, they are famous rappers and a power couple) go on a “dream date”. Cardi is wearing a fancy dress and Offset invites her from the luxurious car. The date in question is, in fact, not as deluxe as it might have seemed. They go to McDonald’s and the food is their new trademark meal.
4. Whopper Whopper Whopper Whopper – Burger King
Why: here’s the fast food advertising history that is being made. 2023 has seen Burger King produce one of the most memorable and catchy jingles of recent years. You may have already heard it, the song is “Whopper Whopper Whopper Whopper” and it starts with, you guessed it, “Whopper Whopper Whopper Whopper” and goes on. The American fast food behemoth didn’t disclose the name of the singer, it remains a mystery to this very day. Many suggested that it was the actor Sam Richardson, but the man himself crashed all the rumors on Twitter.
Burger King has managed to do the unthinkable. They went viral, they made an ultimate earworm, and they became a part of pop culture. The beat here is an homage to the classic “Have It Your Way” Burger King song from the distant 1974. Both songs rock. Here’s the full version of “Whopper Whopper Whopper Whopper” to save you time searching.
5. Own your McSpicy Face – McDonald’s
Why: how to better promote a new spicy burger? Through the face of course. The original idea is why this commercial is on our list of the best fast food ads in 2023. If you like your fast food meals hot, you won’t be able to forget the “McSpicy Face” and are guaranteed to remember this while eating at the chain restaurant next time. Don’t hide it, just own it. As simple as that.
6. From Memes To Dreams – Popeyes
Why: talk about reading the room, Popeyes did it perfectly. Their “From Memes to Dreams” ad features that kid from a 9-year-old Vine and Twitter meme with a child at Popeyes giving a side-eye to a stranger filming him. Here’s the original if you don’t remember. Now that kid is all grown-up, drives Tesla, and loves puppies. But guess what’s never changing? His love for Popeyes of course. This is a beautiful example of meta-advertising and a brand that understands the internet very well.
7. KindNest – Tim Horton’s
Why: Canada’s legendary fast food chain did something different for its advertising campaign this year. The KindNest clip is not about their food, it’s about the book “A Nest in the North” about the “core Canadian value of kindness towards one another”. A touching story of a lonely goose that desperately looking for belonging and friends is a tear-jerking animation masterpiece. The campaign is done in partnership with the UN Refugees Agency so it just hits harder than any other fast food ad.
