Alan Shearer is appearing in new online videos for McDonald's to mark the equivalent of 100,000 meals donated by customers to FareShare in new social content inspired by the 1998 advert Signature.
The posts were created to encourage people to make the most of their unused MyMcDonald’s Rewards points via the McDonald’s app, by redeeming them or donating them to McDonald’s partner charities FareShare, Ronald McDonald House Charities and Children in Need.
The social content pays homage to the original ad, featuring Alan being pursued around Newcastle by fans – this time for a picture. In the 1998 advert, Shearer is shown being chased by a young fan desperate to get his autograph. Having failed, he got one final chance when Shearer entered a McDonald’s to pick up some food on his way home. The fan then cheekily claimed that the signature on Shearer’s cheque didn’t match his card and asked him to write it again on a piece of paper, finally landing him his coveted autograph.
The main character in ‘Selfie’ is a teenage girl, Jackie, who is desperate for a picture with her hero but fails to capture her snap at every turn, including at St James’ Park and a McDonald’s Fun Football event. She ends up getting the selfie when she bumps into Alan at the end of her McDonald’s shift, after he asks her if she can help him redeem his Rewards points on the McDonald’s App.
In a final twist, Jackie calls her dad to share her news, telling him “I got one better than you”, revealing that her father is none other than the lad from ‘Signature’ – played by the original actor – who captured Alan’s autograph 25 years ago.
The father role – played by Stephen Hoyle – is not the only ‘easter egg’ in the content, which also features Alan’s daughter Chloe reprising her role as the voice on the phone asking her dad to collect a McDonald’s on his way home. The 1998 version also showed Shearer speaking to Chloe on the phone – then aged five – asking him the same question.
Alan Shearer said: “Times have changed since I shot the first advert with McDonald’s 25 years ago – I don’t get many people asking me for signatures anymore, now they’re all after selfies! McDonald’s has also changed and it’s great that customers can now donate their MyMcDonald’s Rewards points to good causes like FareShare. It was great fun to dust off my acting skills to help encourage people to get spending those points – enjoy free food or make a donation to a great cause, it’s a no brainer.
“I have fond memories of shooting the first ‘Signature’ ad – it was in the build-up to the 1998 World Cup, when I was captaining the England men’s team – so when McDonald’s approached me to ask if I fancied creating a new version, it was an easy choice.
“It was brilliant to be back in Newcastle for the filming, as well – we shot at some of the same locations as last time, including St. James’ Park. It was also great to see Stephen, the actor who was in the original advert all those years ago – he’d even brought along the original cheque from the 1998 shoot, which genuinely came from my old cheque book!”
Louise Page, Head of Consumer Communications and Partnerships at McDonald’s UK & Ireland, said: “We wanted to do something special to mark the equivalent of 100,000 FareShare meals being donated via MyMcDonald’s Rewards by our generous customers, and encourage people to use their points to treat themselves or donate to our three good causes. With the 25th anniversary of ‘Signature’ approaching and Alan being such a good sport, we knew we had the perfect idea. Hopefully in another 25 years, we’ll call up Alan again to complete the trilogy!”
