McDonald’s pulls off a global menu heist

McDonald’s UK is finally doing what fans have been asking for: ‘stealing’ its most hyped international menu items and bringing them home.

“World Menu Heist,” created with Leo UK, reframes years of online food envy as a cinematic operation.

The campaign sees eight global favourites smuggled into UK restaurants, including Japan’s Garlic & Black Pepper McNuggets, the Pineapple McSpicy from Australia, and the UAE’s Mac & Cheese Triangles.

It kicked off with a secret Instagram “Close Friends” network, leading to a Barking Riverside Pier tasting event for 1,000 guests.

CCTV-style teaser footage followed, created in partnership with LADbible. Today marks the full reveal with a hero film that leans into heist tropes: nuggets lifted from a moving train, McFlurry machines smuggled by Jet Ski, a van with the plate “NUG Z.”

OOH and social executions extend the drama, while app alerts and CRM keep fans in the loop as the goods land in stores. The final act (17–25 November) pushes urgency before the menu disappears.

Andrew Long, Executive Creative Director at Leo UK, said: “Fans have been wanting to steal the global menu for years, and we finally gave them the tools to pull it off. ‘World Menu Heist’ is Ocean’s Eleven meets McDonald’s, the tastiest heist of the century.”

Ben Fox, Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s UK & Ireland: “Every great heist has a motive, and ours was simple – give people what they’ve been asking for. ‘World Menu Heist’ snatches eight favourites from around the World and enables fans from the UK and Ireland to try them without having to board a plane! There’s something for everyone and it’s the kind of caper only McDonald’s could pull off.”

The campaign was a cross-agency collab.

Creative was handled by Leo UK. Media  by OMD. PR, event and influencer  by Red Consultancy. CRM by TMW, whilst POP Communications were handled by Linney.

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