McDonald’s Sweden – Deal with the Trash (Sweden)
Turned litter into loyalty rewards, gamifying responsibility while boosting app use, trust, and market share.
Submitted by OMD Sweden
Winner’s Citation
PLATINUM in the 2025 Marketing Makes a World of Difference Awards.
McDonald’s Sweden turned responsibility into opportunity with “Deal with the Trash.” By using AI to transform litter into loyalty rewards, the brand inspired a national behavior shift while strengthening trust, relevance, and market share. This inclusive, tech-enabled campaign demonstrated that even small actions—when gamified and rewarded—can collectively contribute to cleaner streets, stronger engagement, and sustainable growth.
McDonald’s Sweden was also one of 12 Winners in the AI for Better Marketing Awards.
How it Makes a World of Difference
In Sweden, where civic pride and natural beauty are cultural cornerstones, littering had become a sore spot—and McDonald’s was part of the problem. Rather than ignore it, the brand embraced responsibility with a bold idea: make throwing away trash rewarding. Deal with the Trash transformed waste into value, using AI-powered recognition to turn discarded packaging—whether from McDonald’s or competitors—into redeemable deals. By gamifying sustainability and making it inclusive, McDonald’s proved that environmental responsibility can be motivating, playful, and contagious.
Jury Lens Evaluation
- Promise Becomes Action: McDonald’s promised to take responsibility for its environmental footprint and delivered a scalable system that rewarded proper disposal of packaging.
- Trust: The initiative rebuilt credibility with young Swedes, positioning the brand as cooperative and environmentally responsible.
- Growth: The campaign boosted app adoption, customer engagement, market share, and brand trust simultaneously.
- Difference: By welcoming competitor packaging, McDonald’s elevated the program from corporate CSR to collective action, demonstrating leadership through inclusivity.
Results that Make a Difference
- 200,000+ deals redeemed and 3 tons of litter removed from Swedish streets.
- App downloads up 13% (8 points above target) and active users up 23% (13 points above target).
- Market share grew 2.2 percentage points during the campaign.
- Brand trust among 16–34-year-olds rose 13 percentage points.
- Perception of McDonald’s as environmentally responsible increased from 50% to 76%.
- Visit intent climbed from 55% to 78%.
- ROI: 6.8x overall, 4.5x long-term—showing that sustainability and profitability can align.
