Making of ‘Kung Fries’: Viral McDonald’s Taiwan Tribute to Fans and Tradition

Tying together a fan truth with cultural legacy, McDonald’s Taiwan introduced ‘Kung Fries’ – a creative collaboration with Leo Taiwan that reimagined martial arts moves to help you defend your fries.

Working with Master Scott Hung, the talent behind some of Taiwan’s most iconic martial arts films, the brand came up with five kung fu-inspired moves to help keep your fries safe from hungry thieves.

Inspired by the movies, the campaign was teased in cinemas with a trailer, movie-style posters and OOH installations. Along with social media tutorial videos, McDonald’s restaurants were transformed into training dojos so customers could learn the five moves. There was also a chance to win a Golden Fry, crafted from pure gold.

To find out more, LBB’s Sunna Coleman speaks with Cindy Lin, CMO at McDonald’s Taiwan, and Jin Yang, creative partner at Leo Taiwan, who share the insight that drove the creative idea, how the five moves came together, and the far-reaching impact of the campaign.

LBB> ‘Kung Fries’ was over six months in the making. Tell us about where this all started and how you eventually landed on the final concept.

Cindy> ‘Kung Fries’ was born from a global fan truth: people love McDonald’s fries so much, they’ll protect them when others try to force them to share, even if they are close friends. We dramatised this simple yet powerful fan truth using kung fu, which has millions of passionate followers across Taiwan and is an iconic part of our culture. With the interesting match between culture and our fan truth, ‘Kung Fries’ has been identified as our blockbuster for 2025, complete with teaser trailers, premiere events, a main film and immersive experiences.

We believe that ‘Kung Fries’ isn’t just a campaign, it’s a tribute to fan devotion, a celebration of cultural identity, and a showcase of bold creative storytelling.

Jin> The idea mainly came from our creative director, Kenji Ho, and his team. When I first heard it, I immediately felt the beauty of the concept. Everyone knows McDonald’s fries are so irresistibly delicious that people can’t help but sneak a few. In Taiwan, people are naturally friendly, and it often feels awkward to say “no” to friends, which made us think: what if we could develop a fun, light-hearted ‘fries defence’ system?

Kung fu has a massive following across Asia, with millions of devoted fans. We used this ancient martial art to develop the world’s first playful set of fry-defense techniques, turning the battle to protect your fries into a fun, lighthearted exchange that brings people closer.

LBB> You worked with Master Scott Hung to come up with each kung fu move. What was the collaboration like?

Jin> I grew up watching kung fu movies, and I’ve always been fascinated by the wire-fu stunts, the different martial arts schools, and the variety of techniques. But I had never worked on this kind of film before, so being able to collaborate with Taiwan’s top fight choreographer, Scott Hung, and contribute to the design of the moves was truly exciting.

Scott has won the Golden Horse Award for Best Action Choreography and has designed fight sequences for many blockbuster films, but I believe ‘Kung Fries’ was also a big challenge for him. The first being, this was his very first commercial project. The duration and storytelling approach of a commercial are very different from a feature film.

Secondly, we wanted all the moves to focus on defending fries from being stolen, not on attacking others. They needed to be fun, easy to learn, and playful enough for gen z to use in everyday joking-around moments. Since we were also releasing tutorial videos on social media, the choreography had to be engaging yet simple.

Honestly, it wasn’t easy, but Master Hung pulled it off brilliantly, of course, working hand-in-hand with our director, Leo Wang.

Cindy> The process was highly collaborative. Working with such an incredible mix of local talent, from Master Scott Hung to director Leo Wang, was a cornerstone of the ‘Kung Fries’ campaign. Their unique styles and ideas sparked some surprising moments, which gave the campaign momentum, narrative clarity, visual impact, and most importantly, cultural resonance.

LBB> There are many different elements to this campaign. Can you talk us through those?

Jin> Since this was conceived as an epic, movie-like kung fu film, we wanted the campaign launch to be a full-scale movie release strategy. During the teaser phase, OOH installations sparked buzz, while the official trailer was screened in major cinemas nationwide. Movie-style posters were also displayed in theatres, creating a truly cinematic experience.

Beyond the hero film and social content, McDonald’s restaurants were transformed into training dojos, where customers could learn the five moves directly from instructions on tray mats. Tutorial videos broke down the complex techniques into simple, everyday motions. Fans were also invited to share their own stolen-fry stories for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind Golden Fry, crafted from pure gold.

LBB> How does this campaign fit into McDonald’s Taiwan’s broader brand personality and voice?

Cindy> At McDonald’s, our personality is light-hearted, playful, welcoming, dependable and unpretentious. It was really an interesting experience to strike the right balance between McDonald’s personality and the creative idea. It had to be playful but pay homage to kung fu and introduce the idea that “With fries in hand, kung fu finds new life.” With the ‘Kung Fries’ film, we pay tribute by incorporating many classic elements, but the movie is seen through the lens of McDonald’s culture.

We’re grateful for the creative tension that emerged during this process, which challenged us to push boundaries and resulted in ideas that not only elevated the campaign but also stayed true to our brand’s identity and resonated deeply with our customers.

LBB> What were you looking for when searching for the lead actress and how long did it take to learn all the choreography?

Jin> When the script was first developed, we immediately knew the lead actress would be the soul of the entire film. She had to look gentle and harmless, but at the same time, when it came to protecting what she loves most — her fries — she needed a sudden toughness that would surprise everyone. Ideally, she would also have a background in martial arts to make the fight scenes convincing.

We were lucky to have two candidates make it to the final round. The first actually practiced martial arts but didn’t quite fit the “contrast” we were looking for; it felt like nobody would dare to steal her fries.

The other candidate was Man-Si Ho – a dancer, not a martial artist. In the end, Scott and our director, Leo, decided she was the right choice, with great potential for martial arts. They believed that with intensive training, she could pull it off.

It was a bold decision, but Man-Si spent two months before filming learning martial arts — and more importantly, how to fight while holding fries. And the results proved it was the right call: her performance turned out to be fantastic.

LBB> The film is over three minutes long — what was the strategy behind that decision?

Jin> We understand that today’s audiences have limited attention spans. They tend to prefer short, fast-paced videos and rarely have the patience for a long film. However, we wanted this piece to feel truly epic — something that could match the iconic status of McDonald’s fries. For us, it wasn’t about length; it was about making the content so engaging that people couldn’t stop watching.

At three minutes and 16 seconds, the film is both compact and cinematic, striking the right balance between pace and storytelling.

LBB> Tell us about some of the most challenging aspects of this project and what solutions were found.

Jin> I think the biggest challenge was designing the moves while maintaining dramatic tension. In typical kung fu choreography, you can use the whole body (even kicks), but here the focus had to be on defensive hand movements. The challenge was to design moves that felt varied and layered, while also delivering a sitcom-like comedic effect.

LBB> What reaction has the campaign had in Taiwan so far and how are you measuring impact?

Cindy> We’ve seen incredibly positive feedback from our customers — bringing strong cultural relevance into the campaign really struck a chord. The campaign drove a 37% increase in McDonald’s Fries business, significantly boosting sales during the campaign period in Taiwan.

‘Kung Fries’ was more than just a product communication – it sparked conversations, laughter, and even a sense of nostalgia. People weren’t just enjoying the fries; instead, they were connecting with the story behind them, which was rooted in a fan truth we knew would resonate.

The blend of fries and kung fu felt both uniquely local and universally fun, which drew over 6,600 participants to social activations and generated more than four million video views with 8.5 million reach in just three weeks. This creative direction helped us build stronger emotional connections while staying true to what McDonald’s stands for: great food, joyful experience, and meaningful cultural moments. At the end of the day, brand love is what we care about most, and the way customers embraced ‘Kung Fries’ shows we’re creating something they genuinely enjoy and relate to.