MAX Burgers Invites McDonald's Employees to Try Its Burger

MAX Burgers was informed that McDonald's will be revamping its entire menu, which will include an "upgrade" of its iconic Big Mac. 

To establish its dominance in the Swedish market, the burger chain launched its own campaign inviting McDonald's staff to figure out which of two burgers is the "updated version" of the McDonald's offering.

Made by Åkestam Holst NoA, the 76-second spot titled "The Big M*c Update," sees the global fast-food chain's employees blindly tasting the two burgers, with many of them thinking MAX's sandwich was the updated Big Mac.

"Juicy, this is 2024," one says. Meanwhile, others compliment the update, calling it "great," "much tastier" and having "a lot more to grab onto" compared to the classic McDonald's burger. 

"It's almost like a hug in my mouth, kind of," another adds. 

At the end of the spot, the brand reveals that the burger they tasted was Max's new "BIG CLASSIC," catching all of McDonald's former and current employees by surprise. 

In creating effective and eye-catching campaigns like MAX's, it's crucial to partner with a top advertising agency to bring your idea to life.

Facing Giants

Formerly called "Big Max" and "BIG," MAX's all-new BIG CLASSIC builds on the popularity of the burger joint's staple within Sweden, going head-to-head against the Golden Arches company. 

Linus Blom, MAX Burgers head of brand strategy, shared that the Big Max burger had already been around for two years before McDonald's came to Sweden in 1973.

"Eventually, they sent their lawyers after us, and after a bit of fuss, our burger was allowed to be called BIG," he added. 

With the McDonald's update right around the corner, the burger joint saw the perfect opportunity to test its burger alongside the more globally popular option. It even gave McDonald's the advantage by inviting its staff.

However, the results weren't what the brand expected. 

"Many will surely think it's rigged, as we got almost too good reactions. But we can assure everyone that none of the participants knew the conditions," Blom explains. 

"Hopefully, this will encourage more people to compare the two. But it is clear that the prefix 'big' really only suits one of these burgers."

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