Published 25th June 2024

Aardman brings back Farmer and Rancher in campaign for McDonald's France

Aardman, in partnership with TBWA Paris & Jungler, has created a 30” animated commercial for McDonald's France to promote the McFarmer and McRancher burgers which made a return to restaurants this spring – going head-to-head after a 10-year absence.

The stop motion films feature the characters Farmer and Rancher each in his own universe, in a slapstick inspired tussle between brothers, with each one attempting to 'take over' the screen - in a 'who's the greatest' style battle.

Aardman’s concept for the design was an old-fashioned western show, with a theatrical, diorama style and each puppet was meticulously created by the studio's expert team of model makers using high fidelity 3D prints, real fabrics and silicon moulds.

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The campaign was directed by Aardman’s Will Studd, who has a passion for character, art direction and comedy. With a strong background in design and cinematography, Will has garnered a host of awards over his career and has worked with some of the world's largest brands including Nike, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Heinz, BBC, ITV, GlaxoSmithKline and more.

Will Studd, Director at Aardman said: “It was a pleasure to work with the team at TBWA Paris, I was thrilled to direct their new spot for McDonalds, they say that the perfect slapstick script doesn't exist, but these were a dream to direct and really let us flex our physical comedy muscles. We also got the chance to create some fantastic, timeless characters. The animation and model making team did such a great job that the calibre of talent speaks for itself. I want to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved and the huge amounts of work they put in; you can truly feel it in every frame!”

Sebastien Pribile, EP at Jungler added: “The film celebrates the return of two characters, McFarmer and McRancher, who are fighting over the screen. This epic match has the most rock and roll grandma of all time as a referee. A wacky and dynamic battle with an unknown ending: Who will be the best? We were very excited to work on this production with Aardman, their expertise in stop-motion gives them the ability to face every technical difficulty. The director, Will Studd, succeeded to creating a whole universe, adding background gags and a lot of humor to the client’s brief.”