Unleash your inner child: Christmas lands at McDonald’s

-       McDonald’s UK release their Christmas TV advert with a heart-warming story, recognised by families everywhere

-       The 90 TV ad premieres in I’m a Celeb this weekend, with a soundtrack from singing sensation Becky Hill

-       As part of the campaign, McDonald’s has committed to funding FareShare to redistribute over 5 million meals by 2021

The McDonald’s Christmas advert for 2020 will premiere this Sunday (15th November) during ITV’s flagship show, I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! in a takeover of the full 90 second advertisement break.

The animated tale tells the heart-warming story of a mother desperately trying to encourage her teenage son to put down his screens and take part in family rituals in the run-up to Christmas.

The story, which will ring true for many young people and parents, is set to the tear-jerking, iconic track ‘Forever Young’. Originally released by Alphaville in 1984, Becky Hill has made it her own with a stripped back version, which is available for streaming, and download from Thursday 12^th November.

The release comes as McDonald’s pledges to donate funding to enable FareShare to redistribute a further four million meals to families in need before next Easter as part of the same campaign. This means that together with the donation before October half term, the restaurant company will help to fund the redistribution of over five million meals to those families most in need.

Paul Pomroy, Chief Executive Officer, McDonald’s UK and Ireland said:

 “In a year like no other, I am proud that we can stand together with organisations like FareShare and the End Child Food Poverty Task Force to support those in greatest need. Together with our franchisees, we will provide funding to the charity to enable them to redistribute over five million meals to vulnerable families.

“We hope our FareShare partnership goes some way to supporting families in need in the communities in which we operate this Christmas and into 2021.

“Alongside this partnership, whether it is through our longstanding charity partner Ronald McDonald House Charities or the hundreds of local and national good causes we and our franchisees support, we are committed to supporting families facing adversity.”

On the Christmas campaign, Michelle Graham-Clare, Vice President, Marketing and Menu said:

“Our heart-warming tale of Tom and his mum aims to reignite the magic of Christmas across the UK and Ireland this winter. That moment as the pair reconnect over the reindeer treats, saved from their trip through the Drive Thru, represents the common truth of children determined to grow up but swept up by the festive spirit. I am sure it is a feeling that will be familiar to so many families and in this year we are proud to be spreading some much-needed Christmas cheer with this multi-channel campaign.

“We are delighted to be working with Becky once more following her sensational appearance at our recent music event I’m Lovin’ It Live. Her stunning performance of Forever Young adds an additional sparkle to this beautiful creative and I am incredibly grateful that she has chosen to support FareShare with the release of the single too. It’s been a really challenging year and I hope our contribution to the competitive Christmas campaign window raises a much-needed smile.”

FareShare Commercial Director Alyson Walsh said:

“We’re extremely grateful that McDonald’s is extending its generous support to our mission and specifically enabling us to get meals to those in need between now and Easter. We know first-hand how much communities are struggling at the moment and this partnership means that we can support grass roots organisations across the UK with much-needed food both now and in the months to come.”

The full version of Becky Hill’s rendition of Forever Young is available from today, with the singer giving 10p from every download going to food charity FareShare.

Becky Hill said:

“Being a part of a Christmas campaign like this has been a dream of mine for a long time. The message in the McDonalds advert is one I wish I'd seen when I was a teenager; take every moment in the purest form as life changes so quickly. This Christmas, I am celebrating without two very important people in my life & this campaign has reminded me just how precious every Christmas with my nearest & dearest. To be given the chance to support other families in need with FareShare & the amazing work they do, is also an added beautiful moment for me. I feel very lucky, Merry Christmas.”

About FareShare

FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 18 independent organisations. Together, we take good quality surplus food from right across the food industry and get it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups. The food we redistribute is nutritious, in-date and good to eat. It reaches charities across the UK, including school breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch clubs, homeless shelters, and community cafes. Every week we provide enough food to create over a million meals for vulnerable people. To find out more and to get involved visit fareshare.org.uk. Registered charity number 1100051

For Media Enquiries – please contact christie.garratt@fareshare.org.uk

About Becky Hill:

Renowned for her show-stopping vocal prowess and her credentials as a hit-making song writer, 26 year old Becky Hill is one of Britain’s most in-demand musical exports of the moment. Described by Annie Mac as “one of the finest voices in pop music today” and Popjustice as “UK pop’s greatest secret weapon”, Becky has not only notched up over a 1.5 billion streams, but was 2019’s 2nd most listened to British female artist on Spotify in the UK. 

Becky has an impressive string of hits to her name, having written and performed on nine singles which charted in the top 40 of the UK official singles chart, including the recently released ‘Space’,  ‘Heaven On My Mind’ with Sigala (her highest charting debut ever), ‘Better Off Without You’ (which spent 5 weeks in the Top 20 of the UK Official Singles chart) and the chart-toping, number 1, (‘Gecko (Overdrive)’ with Oliver Heldens). While Becky’s  2019 released ‘Get To Know’ (a 13 track collection of singles she either released herself or wrote and guest performed on) was recently confirmed by Official Charts to be 2020’s 3^rd most streamed album by a British female artist and among the top 5 most streamed albums by a British artist in the UK.