MEDIA RELEASE
29 March 2010
Page 1 of 2
Giant McDonald’s Playland takes over Circular Quay Sydney
Everyday Australians get to play!
Sydney, 29th
March 2010 –
More than three stories high and taking up the entire forecourt of
Customs House at Sydney’s Circular Quay, Sydney office workers were this morning stunned at the
sight of the biggest McDonald’s Playland ever constructed as they made their daily commute to
work.
The Playland has been opened up for the playing pleasure of more than 300 everyday Australians on
Monday 29th
and Tuesday 30
th
March as part of the filming of a McDonald’s TV commercial. The
largest single set ever built in Australia for a TV commercial, the Playland is double the size of those
normally found in McDonald’s restaurants around Australia at 10 metres high by 20 metres wide.
The massive structure is set to ignite intrigue among office workers and tourists alike as a dazzling
world of slides that twist, turn and dip into a colourful ball pit; playful tunnels that wind and loop
across a 20 metre area; and the fun of an adult-size aeroplane, helicopter and giant bus bring fun
back to adults in the city.
“Adult life carries many restrictions so we want to remind people that McDonald’s is still a place
were you can have fun, be yourself and not be judged. A place where you feel like a kid again,” said
Helen Farquhar, Director of Marketing, McDonald’s (ANZ). “This adult-sized Playland allows us to
forget about the deadlines, budgets and stresses of life and just revel in this incredible childhood
arcadia. And the best part is the McDonald’s characters we loved as kids are back old school style
giving us the opportunity to reclaim our childhood, to look at the world through younger eyes again
and just lose ourselves – if only for a minute.”
Set to reignite many childhood memories, passers by will also see a 3 metre tall Officer Big Mac
checking the height of participants under his arm, Fillet-O-Fish bouncers, a retro Grimace cage and
Hamburglar swing, as well as a Ronald McDonald bench reaching 2.5 metres in height –
about
double the size of an average Ronald bench found in McDonald’s restaurants.
2
Taking eight weeks to build mostly by hand, the Playland set was constructed by Gregsets Pty Ltd,
who have also worked on the set production for blockbuster movies such as StarWars, Moulin Rouge
and Australia.
A combination of design ideas from the advertisement creators DDB, production house Revolver,
Rhinoplay and renown art director Karen Murphy; the gigantic Playland set is based on those built in
McDonald’s restaurants today while including retro elements from the 1970s and 1980s
A launch date for the campaign is yet to be confirmed.
-ends-
For further information, or to request a photograph please contact:
Renae Hanvin, Mango DDB
Bronwyn Stubbs, McDonald’s Australia
Phone: 03 9254 3514 or 0417 207 453
Phone: 02 9875 6155 or 0450 089 901
Email:
renaeh@thisismango.com.au
Email:
bronwyn.stubbs@au.mcd.com
Michelle Durham, Mango DDB
Phone: 02 8260 2125 or 0404 666 298
Email:
michelled@thisismango.com.au
NOTE TO EDITOR:
About McDonald’s Australia
Australia’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Yagoona, Sydney, in 1971. Today there are over 800 McDonald’s
restaurants across Australia, 75 per cent of which are franchised and run by local business men and women. The
organisation employs 85,000 people in restaurants and corporate offices Australia-wide, and is the largest employer of
youth in the country. McDonald’s creates more than 6,000 new jobs each year and spends over $40 million per annum on
training and people development. McDonald’s suppliers export $175 million worth of Australian products annually and its
restaurants spend more than $1.6 billion on food, packaging and other goods and services each year. For more information
NEWS 
