McDonald’s Norway shows its ugly side in a new anti-littering campaign

Iconic packaging turns into iconic trash. McDonald’s Norway takes ownership of its littering by showcasing the ugly side of their packaging, encouraging guests to join their cause and researching what they can do themselves to prevent littering. 

Take away packaging is the third largest source of littering in cities, according to research. As the country’s largest takeaway restaurant, McDonald’s Norway is a substantial part of the problem. In this campaign, McDonald’s uses the entire toolbox to find solutions for littering, in close collaboration with their agency partners NORD DDB, WergelandApenes and OMD.

“We’re responsible for one of the biggest and most visible parts of littering. We’re definitely not pleased when we see trash from our restaurants lying around. This is a big problem for our communities, cities and the environment. With our size and influence, we can do a lot better than we do today”, says senior marketing manager Mari Husby in McDonald’s Norway.

There is no doubt that trash from McDonald’s is very noticeable, with its well-known logo. In a new advertising campaign developed by NORD DDB, with the message “take away your take away”, the restaurant chain encourages all McDonald’s lovers to help them reduce littering. Photos of “iconic trash” from McDonald’s lying around in the streets of Oslo, captured by the photographer Jói Kjartans, are shown in print, social media, OOH displays and McDonald’s trays to reach as many customers as possible. Also, trash cans have been placed next to OOH displays so that the iconic McDonald’s arches can be used as a trash-guide. The campaign also includes a commercial shown on TV and online. 

It does not stop there. McDonald’s has initiated several measures to create long-term solutions.

“As a major player, we have both a great responsibility and an enormous power to contribute to change. In addition to driving attention to the issue through mass communication, we’ve joined a pilot project with Keep Norway Clean with the aim of preventing unconscious littering and we’ve initiated dialogue with politicians, stakeholders and competitors. Our restaurant employees are also out in their communities cleaning the streets these days. Together we hope to make a difference”, says Husby.