YouTube/McDonald's
- McDonald's released an emotional holiday commercial that has adults crying.
- The commercial follows a girl's relationship with an imaginary friend throughout her childhood.
- The annual Christmas commercial named named "Imaginary Iggy" was released in the U.K.
McDonald's is heralding the holiday season with a nostalgic, tear-inducing Christmas commercial titled "Imaginary Iggy" that's found its fans on social media.
The commercial follows the journey of a young girl named Matilda through childhood holiday seasons. One Christmas, she draws an imaginary friend – a blue, furry monster named "Iggy" – who comes to life and becomes best friends with her throughout her adolescence.
The two share plates of carrot sticks, he encourages her during a performance, and they watch movies together. Their relationship fades when Matilda becomes a teenager, and eventually, she takes down her drawing of him and puts Iggy and the drawing in the closet before her friends come over.
When she sees a child at McDonald's feeding carrots to their imaginary friend, she returns to the closet, where she finds her loyal friend has been waiting for years. The commercial ends with the two redoing scenes from Matilda's childhood and sharing a plate of carrot sticks.
The song "Time after Time" plays throughout the commercial and adds to the commercial's heartwrenching qualities.
"I didn't think I'd be sobbing at the @McDonalds Christmas advert on a Friday night," one user tweeted.
-Sara 💙 (@Mabel_Mouse_) November 12, 2021
"I can't believe i'm actually crying over the mcdonalds christmas ad who gave them permission to do the best ones," another user said.
As part of the campaign, the company is donating 10 pence (13 US dollars) to FareShare, a charity aimed at fighting hunger, for every download of Mabel's version of "Time after Time."
"Christmas is such as joyous time for children and adults alike - with this year set to be better than ever as families reunite all over the country after a difficult few years," Michelle Graham-Clare, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at McDonald's, said in a press release. "We're confident our advert perfectly encapsulates the magic of childhood imagination which comes alive at this time of year and provides a helpful reminder that you're never too old to make believe."