Football Legends Share Their McDonald's Orders in FIFA World Cup Campaign

Ahead of the Summer, McDonald’s has welcomed fans worldwide to celebrate the biggest moments from FIFA World Cup 26. Whether you are a fan cheering from the couch or a star player on the pitch, everyone can score big with the limited-time FIFA World Cup 26 Meal and Happy Meal, including collectible keepsakes featuring global soccer stars and beloved Squishmallows, at participating McDonald’s worldwide.

This is the largest McDonald’s campaign ever by market scale - reaching 100+ markets around the world. The line-up is stacked including, Ronaldinho (Brazil), Lamine Yamal (Spain), David Beckham (UK), Thierry Henry (France), Son Heung-min (South Korea), Christian Pulisic (US), Santiago Giménez (Mexico), and Alphonso Davies (Canada).

But what makes this campaign different? When other brands are lifting up these megastars as the football icons they are, McDonald’s is taking a different approach, showing that even the most legendary athletes have a McDonald’s order.

As brands race to insert themselves into football culture ahead of this year's World Cup, the team at Wieden+Kennedy recognised something simpler and more authentic. McDonald's doesn't need to suddenly become a football brand. With decades of history around the tournament and restaurants woven into everyday life around the world, McDonald’s is uniquely positioned to host the world during one of culture’s biggest moments. So this year, the World Cup is going to McDonald's.

The creative reflects that thinking. Rather than focusing on the intensity and spectacle typically associated with World Cup advertising, the campaign shows some of the world’s most iconic footballers in a more human, relatable way. In the spots, directed by Stacy Wall, we show them as McDonald’s fans, not just athletes. They're hanging out at McDonald’s, eating their real favourite orders, and acting like fans rather than untouchable superstars. Because no matter how big or famous you are, everyone has a McDonald’s order.

“At McDonald’s, magic happens when families, friends, and fans come together and celebrate with the people they love. Partnering with the FIFA World Cup 26 allows us to take that shared joy and bring it to life at a global scale through our food, our experiences, and the ways fans connect with the game,” said Morgan Flatley, global chief marketing officer and head of new business ventures at McDonald’s. “As football icons take the field to unite fans across continents, McDonald’s will be there from the first whistle to the final minute with limited-time meals and keepsakes so fans of all ages can be part of the excitement all tournament long and beyond.”

From a tactical perspective, sometimes this means enhancing our fans’ World Cup moments with our brand. The fully integrated campaign spans TV, social, digital, streaming, and experiential, all centred around collectible FIFA cups inspired by the iconic McDonald’s Dream Team Cups of the 1990s. Designed with artist collective ILOVEDUST, the cups celebrate football legends, fandom, and nostalgia in a way that feels distinctly McDonald’s.

The campaign also comes to life through fan driven experiences across global and local markets. Globally, fans can generate custom World Cup watch party playlists on Spotify with a little help from Team McDonald’s latest recruit, Grimace. In the US, Wieden+Kennedy have developed a media strategy featuring in-game placements and sequential storytelling, allowing us to deliver a more connected and culturally relevant fan experience rather than forcing a traditional brand message into the conversation.