McDonald’s Surprize Fries returned to Australia and New Zealand with more surprises than ever before from March 5 to April 1. The ever-popular activation is enabled through the transformational technology of iWin, the proprietary game engine tms designed and manage.  

The famous peel returns from last year with each order of fries, only this time the promotion features an improved one in three chances for customers to win free food, exclusive merchandise, gift cards from their favorite brands, and cash prizes. To play, customers simply remove the peel from their fries to reveal an instant prize or a code that can be scanned in the McDonald’s app for gamified reveals, resulting in a reward or an entry to a weekly prize sweepstakes.  

This time, players in Australia get a doubly exciting, gamified experience each week during the month-long promotion, as McDonald’s will unveil a new Surprize Prize, featuring exciting “money can’t buy” experiences to delight customers and celebrate unsung hero of every McDonald’s meal – the fries.   

The new experience is delivered seamlessly using tms’ iWin proprietary game engine technology, which delivers secure and scalable engaging customer experiences.  

“We’re constantly seeking new and innovative ways to surprise and delight our customers through our promotions. This year, our digital experience takes it to the next level, offering something fresh and exciting for McDonald’s fans,” said Stuart Nyman, Digital Client Engagement Lead at tms. 

Other partner agencies including Akcelo, which created the front-end digital experience in the app; DDB handling creative communications; and Creata delievered the prize pool and ticket printing. Digitas is the CRM agency in Australia, while Track manages CRM for New Zealand, and Mango is the PR agency. OMD handles media planning and buying.   

Discover the success of last year’s Surprize Fries promotion, enabled by tms. 

McDonald’s has joined forces with British rap legend Stormzy in a new campaign inviting fans to “Order like Stormzy.” The signature meal is available for a limited time, launching on February 12 exclusively in the UK and ROI. To make the campaign come to life, tms led on the promotion, digital experience, and prize pool. 

The collaboration spotlights the artist’s go-to McDonald’s meal: 9 McNuggets, Fries, Sprite, an Oreo McFlurry, and BBQ sauce. 

tms sourced exclusive merchandise including branded pin badges in collaboration with Linney, adding an extra element of surprise and delight for customers. As part of the digital experience, we developed two interactive microsites – one for customers entering the Prize Draw and another for those redeeming merch through Merch on Tiers using MyMcDonald’s Rewards – each providing a unique way for customers to engage and unlock tiered merchandise. 

To celebrate, Stormzy’s local Croydon McDonald’s has been temporarily renamed ‘Big Mike’s,’ and fans there can grab The Stormzy Meal 48 hours early. The promotion also includes social-first activations and a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Stormzy himself. 

The campaign was a cross-agency collaboration: Leo Burnett led creative, and social, Red Consultancy managed all talent, PR, event, and influencer, and OMD UK managed all media buying and planning. Linney supported all POP communications and TMW was responsible for CRM.   

Learn more about Stormzy’s signature meal on Famous Campaigns. 

For Celeste Pang, Manager of Promotions Management, her career at tms has presented exciting opportunities to grow, both personally and professionally. In Celeste’s role, the ever-changing landscape of McDonald’s Happy Meal® toy promotions means her work never stays the same. Each new wave of toy innovation has brought unique problems to solve, chances to explore, and opportunities to connect as a team.  

How would you describe your role as Manager of Promotions Management?  

There are two aspects of my role:  

First, as part of the Happy Meal Category Management team, I work primarily with the supply chain stakeholders for our 13 markets in Asia. This includes everyday operational tasks such as ensuring that each container arrives on time, as well as supporting any crisis resolution. For example, I would jump in if a market were to encounter a change in government regulations or a break in supply.   

The second part is to support our Asia markets in ad-hoc promotions outside of Happy Meal. This could be for promotional items ranging from mahjong sets to party hats.   

Do you ever find that variety or change challenging?   

I appreciate it! Think about how the toy has transformed over the years – in the past, it might have been a simple plastic figurine designed for a child. Today, it’s often much more nuanced. There are collaborations with different brands that tap into cross-generational fandoms. The play experience is not just about the toy – it extends to a digital game experience on your mobile phone. The Happy Meal box and packaging has also evolved to become much more interactive.  

What are some of your favorite promotions you’ve worked on throughout your time at tms?  

The promotions I’m the proudest of are the campaigns that get people talking. In 2024, my favorite promotion was the collaboration with Crocs. I truly enjoy watching everyone’s reactions when unboxing their Happy Meal® toy and trying out the accompanying digital experience. Sometimes, friends reach out to me and ask, “I am missing one last toy in the Sanrio x Yugi-oh! program, where can I get it?” or say “Hey, that Squishmallows promotion was great!” These little comments brighten my day. I love knowing that people are genuinely excited about the promotions and appreciate the great products we have.  

Do you ever have a sense of which promotions are going to capture popular imagination before they’re released?  

It’s very hard to predict what will be popular these days, especially with the influence of social media—it’s not just toys that are always changing, it’s popular culture as well. For example, the recent Mario Kart toys were popular even though that game has been around for a long time – you never know!   

Finally, what would you say sets tms apart as a place to work?  

Learn more about our work for McDonald’s, including the recent Feel-Good Marketing Award we recently received for our contributions to a year of record-breaking Happy Meal sales in Japan.

We’re proud to share that tms has been recognized with McDonald’s prestigious Feel-Good Marketing Award for our contributions to a year of record-breaking Happy Meal sales in Japan. 

The Feel-Good Marketing Awards celebrates agencies and partners for delivering exceptional creativity and results across McDonald’s marketing campaigns. tms earned the distinction of “The Most Number of Toys Sold in Japan,” highlighting our reliable sourcing capabilities and demonstrating the power of Happy Meal in bringing people together. In 2024 alone, tms sourced approximately 1.3 billion toys for Happy Meal around the globe. 

In 2024, McDonald’s Japan achieved a remarkable milestone, selling 135,197,015 Happy Meals –an all-time record and a 9.8% increase from 2023. This achievement marks the second consecutive year of record-breaking sales, thanks to the success of iconic programs featuring beloved characters such as Kirby, Doraemon, Pokémon, and Mario Kart. 

This award is a testament to the creativity, dedication, and teamwork of tms’ global departments that drove these outstanding results. 

Learn about the other accolades we have recently received from McDonald’s, including the Sustainability Award at the UK Supplier Summit. 

tms is bringing McDonald’s customers in Canada a new way to win with the launch of “Want PRIZE With That?” Running from February 4 through March 3, McDonald’s guests can purchase specially labelled items for the chance to win millions of prizes in the McDonald’s app.  

As lead agency, tms took charge of the campaign’s strategy and visual identity, tapping into a play on words for its name and using popping, illustrated graphics on the packaging, retail, and digital assets. The combination of illustrated boldness and enticing prize offerings is intended to bring an exciting pick-me-up to anyone combatting the winter blues.  

tms designed custom packaging for select menu items where players can peel off a game piece to unveil their unique code which can be entered into the McDonald’s app for the chance to win countless prizes!  

To make this promotion extra enticing, a $15,000 cash prize is awarded each week, giving players ample opportunities to win! tms was responsible for brokering all prize partnerships, including VIA Rail travel experiences, subscriptions to Paramount+, gift cards to Skip, Vasanti, Tropical Tree, Walmart, and more. Instant food wins and rewards points are also up for grabs. While customers are not guaranteed to win every time, every five stamps a customer receives immediately guarantees them 2,000 MyMcDonald’s Rewards points!  

tms carried through the same illustrated look and feel of the packaging and retail assets to program the digital experience, with poster-like visuals featuring hand drawn prize offerings to excite customers about their potential winnings. While the promotion ends March 3, prizes can still be redeemed in the McDonald’s app through March 24.  

Learn more about our previous work with McDonald’s, including the McDonald’s Gift Drop which launched in November 2024.  

 tms has been honored with the Sustainability Supplier of the Year 2024 award at the McDonald’s UK Supply Chain Conference on January 16. 

This achievement reflects the work of our cross-functional teams to help McDonald’s meet their Plan for Change goals by demonstrating their values of Serve, Family, and Integrity. McDonald’s core value to Serve represents putting customers first, while Family recognizes that we grow stronger together, and Integrity establishes trust.  

By working closely with suppliers, franchisees, and customers, we have introduced products that meet customer needs, while being better for the planet. Our resilience in finding the right products has allowed McDonald’s to meet their 2024 goal of 100% recyclable packaging. 

The award was presented by McDonald’s UK’s Laura Henderson, Vice President of Supply Chain, and Mark Kiernan, CFO, acknowledging our unwavering commitment to sustainability. 

We would like to extend our thanks to all within the enterprise who have collaborated closely to deliver on these industry-leading sustainable initiatives.  

Read about our other recent award wins we have received from McDonald’s, including McDonald’s highest honor in Asia.  

The McDonald’s Gift Drop has launched in the UK, just in time for the festive period! Running from November 20 to December 19, the promotion invites the public to search for hidden gift tags featuring a code to unlock daily offers and a chance to win special prizes, because everyone deserves a win this festive season. tms led on the promotion, digital experience, ecommerce shop, and prize pool, including merchandise development.

Over 100 codes were placed across the nation, and customers are encouraged to find the codes and input them into their app for a chance to unlock a series of “winning moments!” From billboards on the street to in-person events or on your favorite influencer’s social media posts, there are plenty of chances to win each day! 

If a player successfully finds the code, upon entering, they will immediately receive two food offers per day – on top of that, there are additional chances to win exclusive merchandise, food prizes, and MyMcDonald’s Rewards points. To support the prize offerings, tms sourced merchandise like furry Grimace bucket hats, festive PJs and jumpers, Birdie socks, neon lights, and more, enticing customers to participate with special new drops. 

Learn how the McDonald’s Gift Drop complements the broader integrated brand campaign, including the Festive Wins promotion. 

tms Munich is honored to announce we have won the Silver Effie in the Activation Category for the 2023 McDonald’s MONOPOLY campaign! The Effie Awards are regarded as the marketing industry’s golden standard, honoring marketing excellence which has contributed to the success of the world’s leading brands.  

This award is a testament to the incredible dedication of our global teams across the Munich, Duisburg, and London offices, demonstrating our expertise in brand partnerships, digital experiences, and loyalty programs. 

tms was recognized for our work with MONOPOLY and McDonald’s Germany. The campaign celebrated the holiday season, offering players the chance to win enticing prizes like a camper van from Bürstner, solid gold bars, vouchers from our partners, and more! tms successfully negotiated and managed over 20 prize partnerships for the campaign through our extensive network of global partners. 

Learn about our involvement with McDonald’s Germany’s latest MONOPOLY promotion, which launched November 7, 2024.

On November 7, McDonald’s and tms Munich brought back the fan-favorite MONOPOLY promotion.  

There are countless prizes to win as MONOPOLY returns. McDonald’s guests can look forward to a wide range of prizes and offers created with Certified Lead Game Agency, tms Munich, that runs the handling and fulfillment of prizes, manages brand partnerships, and the integration of McDonald’s and Hasbro – owner of the MONOPOLY brand. 

McDonald’s Germany’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tomasz Dębowski, echoes this excitement: “For our guests — and for us as a brand — the MONOPOLY promotion is always a major highlight of the year”. 

The popular peel-and-collect mechanic produced and audited by tms Munich is at the heart of the promotion. Stickers can be found on various participating products, such as McCrispy, Big Tasty Bacon, the McPlant Burger, big Fries, big Soft Drinks, McFlurry, and more.  

The MONOPOLY game will take place entirely through the MyMcDonald’s app, where participants can scan or enter codes, collect sets of “streets” and “stations,” and instantly win prizes in their accounts. Delicious winning coupons can be redeemed on their next visit. Alongside instant food prizes, this year’s rewards include several trips, a camper van, a dream house, and the chance to win up to €100,000 through Jackpot Tickets.  

Read more about the promotion through the German industry publications Horizont and Life PR.

It’s not an easy task helping lead the charge reinventing a beloved icon, the Happy Meal toy, towards a more sustainable future – but tms’ Future Lab does just that, innovating more sustainable solutions for Happy Meals around the world.  

The Future Lab is responsible for identifying new, more sustainable materials, suppliers, and production processes for Happy Meal toys. As part of this process, they not only design but also research new toy concepts that are safe, durable, deliver high perceived value, and most importantly, align with McDonald’s Global sustainability goals. It’s an important task, especially given how iconic the Happy Meal toy has been for nearly half a century.   

Since embarking on McDonald’s sustainability journey in 2018, the Future Lab team has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in toy design using qualified sustainable materials. Initially focusing on fiber-based materials like cardboard and paper, their efforts have evolved to include more durable, sustainable materials such as aluminum, bio-resins, and mass-balance plastics.  

Their goal? To ensure that Happy Meal toys still look and feel as they always have—only now, they’re made from qualified sustainable materials instead of traditional fossil fuel plastics. Over the past three years, the team has reviewed over 400 new materials, narrowed that list down to 200, and successfully qualified 37 new more sustainable materials to date for use in Happy Meal toys.  

The team’s dedication recently led to a groundbreaking achievement: for the first time in Happy Meal history, they’ve developed a process to use recycled plastics in toys. After two years of collaboration with McDonald’s Global Safety, the tms Supply Chain team, and an independent safety lab, Future Lab has successfully qualified mechanically recycled plastic materials for use in plush Happy Meal toys. Now, recycled PET plastic water bottles can be transformed into the outer fabric and internal stuffing of these toys—a feat that has never been done before.  

With their continued focus on innovation and sustainability, the Future Lab team helps tms and McDonald’s push boundaries and set new standards in sustainable toy production.

Uncover the Future Lab’s involvement with McDonald’s campaigns like the Wiltopia PLAYMOBIL Happy Meal, where they played an integral role in aligning our campaign strategy with McDonald’s environmental commitments by finding more sustainable materials to produce the Happy Meal toys.