• by Larissa Faw , March 1, 2017

Just in time for Lent, McDonald's and its agency Bernstein-Rein (BR) are introducing a new campaign that highlights the restaurant chain's iconic Filet-O-Fish sandwich.

The humorous campaign tracks the journey of a sandwich by visiting land-locked Pollock, South Dakota to find Davis, a man who didn’t know that Filet-O-Fish sandwiches were made from wild-caught Alaska Pollock.

BR and McDonald’s took Davis from Pollock to Kodiak, Alaska, where they spent 16 hours aboard the Trident Seafood’s Viking Explorer, in the Gulf of Alaska.

Other spots contrast the town with the fish to illustrate how McDonald's is the first restaurant chain in the U.S. to adopt the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue ecolabel, which certifies the company’s commitment to protect long-term fish supplies and improve the health of the surrounding marine ecosystems.

“We want our consumers to know where our food comes from and what is in it, so what could be better than showing them not only the fish for the Filet-O-Fish sandwich but the care involved to ensure a great-tasting, quality sandwich when they visit McDonald’s,” stated Chef Dan Coudreaut, VP culinary innovation.

The new campaign features 15-second and 30-second ads that will be supported in local McDonald’s across the country. BR also created radio, digital and social content to support the campaign, leveraging Davis and the story he’s telling through these spots.

In addition, the creative is being made available nationally to all the local franchises. So while it won't have a national push per say, it can be picked up by any or all of the local franchisees.

BR has been a longtime McDonald’s agency providing national creative campaigns through its field activation program as well as local promotional campaigns for seven McDonald’s co-ops.