2026 Winner

In 2025, shifting geopolitical sentiment created an unexpected perception challenge for McDonald’s Canada, with the brand at risk of being seen less as a local staple and more as an American import. At a moment when supporting Canadian businesses carried more weight, the brand needed to reaffirm its place within Canadian culture not just as present, but participatory. The Calgary Stampede, with its deep ties to Western heritage and the Canadian agricultural community that supplies McDonald’s ingredients, offered a natural stage. Rather than simply showing up, the opportunity was to demonstrate belonging. “Cowboy Closeups” translated that idea into execution by turning Western fashion – an iconic part of the Stampede – into McDonald’s menu items. Through macro photography, textures from a cowboy hat, fringed shirt and hand-tooled leather belt were revealed to resemble a Big Mac, fries and a soft serve cone. Each piece was physically crafted in collaboration with designers and shot entirely in-camera, with no CGI or compositing, reinforcing authenticity at every level. Deployed across large-format OOH, the work invited a second look and rewarded discovery. By embedding the brand into the visual language of the Stampede, the campaign repositioned McDonald’s not as an outsider, but as something already woven into the fabric of the moment, driving more than 18M media impressions and 13M social impressions, along with widespread international coverage.

Credits

Agency: Cossette
CCO: Driscoll Reid
CSO: Subtej Nijjar
Chief Creative Officer:
Creative Directors: Pierre Chan, Scott Schneider, Jason Hill
Art Director: Shona Massey
Writer: Michael Pal
Account Team:
Account Executive - Jasmine Hanley
Account Supervisor - Pam Pam Santana
Group Business Director - Kim Hestbak
Strategy Director - Olly Owen
VP/General Manager - Robyn Smith
Production House: MCW
Production House Producer: Jennifer Sinclair, Gianna Blasutto
Director of Photography: Kate Ince
Retoucher: Kate Ince, Stephen Yeung, Trevor Gauthier, Graham Washer

Media Agency: OMD
Media Agency Planner: Paul Henderson, Business Director | Strategy