Sometimes, the most powerful ideas are already there, hidden in plain sight. In the Netherlands, McDonald’s has launched a campaign that turns one of the most familiar urban behaviors into media: the unofficial shortcuts people carve into the grass.
Created with TBWA\NEBOKO, the idea is brilliantly simple. Instead of inventing a concept, the brand observed a truth: when people want something, they take the shortest path to get it.
Across cities, pedestrians naturally create “desire paths,” those worn trails cutting across parks and green spaces. They’re not designed. They’re earned. By mapping these organic routes and cross-referencing them with nearby McDonald’s locations, the team identified shortcuts that quite literally lead to the brand.
No signage needed. The behavior says it all: real paths, real proof.
Rather than stylizing or recreating anything, McDonald’s chose to document these paths exactly as they exist.
Each visual shows a raw, unfiltered shortcut in its natural environment, subtly revealing that this isn’t advertising fiction, but everyday reality. The message is implicit: people are already choosing McDonald’s, even when it means stepping off the pavement.
What makes this campaign stand out is its restraint.
Instead of trying to shape behavior, it simply exposes it. No big production. No heavy messaging. Just a quiet acknowledgment of a truth: McDonald’s is already part of people’s routines.
It’s a reminder that great advertising doesn’t always create culture, sometimes, it just reveals it.
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