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McDonald’s is a classic, but it’s a classic that always seems to lead the game. Christian Mushenko knows that McDonald’s continues to be at the forefront of food production because of their constant innovation and appreciation for what we want next. So, this past year, he’s been thrilled to work with agency GuihenJones to give a fresh look to McDonald’s fresh menu, “Create Your Taste.” “It would be hard to find someone in Australia who hasn’t heard of McDonald’s Create Your Taste innovation by now,” says Christian, but for the U.S. folks who aren’t aware (it hasn’t been unleashed everywhere yet!), Create Your Taste is all about letting customers have total control over their meal, with some delicious new components like grilled tomato, shaved parmesan, and sriracha mayo. Yum.
When they came to me asking about style suggestions I jumped at the opportunity to change the traditional McDonald’s menu board imagery into something more premium.
Christian says they still, of course, had guidelines to follow. McDonald’s requires their product photos to show the precise amount of ingredients that are used, only show the real products, and highlight ingredients unique to each given dish. Christian took on these classic standards and upgraded them, choosing a more natural and authentic styling and lighting approach than the previous McDonald’s imagery.
“I am a big fan of authenticity and realism,” says Christian. Through his more natural approach to styling and lighting, he hoped to create images that appealed to us on a more organic human level. Something that would get our mouths watering.
Christian’s studio is equipped with a full prep area and commercial refrigeration and freezers, so the majority of these photo shoots actually happened right in his studio. He says between food stylist Nicole Szabason, the agency, himself and the crew, it’s a well-oiled machine. Everyone on set is working in sync to get through all the product shots.
One thing Christian had to be very conscious of with these shoots was how the images would be purposed and repurposed. Because McDonald’s has vast and varying needs for their imagery, he had to be sure to capture images that could be used on panoramic banners, narrow vertical wobblers, digital displays, and more. He points out that while some stores have vertical digital displays some have horizontal digital displays, so the images truly needed to be functional on any different screen or banner.
Right now, McDonald’s is using Christian’s images all over the place to get the word out about Create Your Taste. As Australia is the forerunner for the campaign, it’s been great for him to see how huge his images have been in the success of the campaign as it moves forward.
This is an ongoing revitalization of the brand for McDonald’s. After starting with beef, they have since launched (and we have shot) chicken-based burgers and a salad-based range. Being the leader in the market, McDonald’s is always innovating and exploring new things. Who knows where this will end!
Christian left us with one final note on the Create Your Taste campaign: his own go-to burger. He gets a Bakers bun, angus beef patty, cheddar and Swiss cheese, grilled mushrooms, grilled pineapple, whole leaf lettuce, caramelized grilled onions, long sliced pickle, tomato, and herb aioli. Okay….can we all take five and get ourselves some burger? Please??
To view more of Christian’s work, visit christianmushenko.com!