BLACK & POSITIVELY GOLDEN
At the intersection of culture, music, and community, McDonald's sought to deepen its connection with Black audiences through a meaningful presence at Essence Festival—one of the most influential cultural gatherings in the U.S.
The challenge was to move beyond traditional sponsorship and create an experience that felt authentic, participatory, and culturally additive.
We developed a multi-sensory brand activation that transformed McDonald’s into a platform for expression—bridging food, music, and storytelling into one cohesive experience.
AGENCY: Walton Isaacson
FIELD: Experiential Design | Brand Campaign | Cultural Marketing
Typography: Speedee
ROLES: SR. ART DIRECTOR & DESIGN | CD: ANTHONY BROOKS | AD & DESIGN: MICHAEL HARARI
TOOLS: Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop & Procreate
MCDONALDS
ESSENCE FESTIVAL
The idea was simple:
Turn the brand into a stage for culture, not just a sponsor of it.
We approached the activation as a living environment:
A space where people didn’t just consume the brand—they engaged with it. A visual language rooted in energy, rhythm,
and community and lastly, a system flexible enough to live across physical, digital, and social touchpoints.
More than 500,000 attendees are expected to be in New Orleans from June 29th - July 3rd to be empowered, celebrated, informed, and inspired during four days of exciting events.
During festival weekend and as a major sponsor, McDonald's created an experience at the convention center to engage consumers.
Role & Responsibilities
Senior Art Director
• Led the visual direction of the activation from concept through execution
• Developed the core design system and key visual language across all touchpoints
• Collaborated closely with creative directors, strategists, and production teams to bring the experience to life
• Directed design across environmental, campaign, and digital assets to ensure cohesion
• Contributed to concept development, shaping how the brand showed up within a cultural context
Execution
We built a cohesive brand world that carried across every touchpoint of the experience, positioning McDonald’s as a unified and culturally relevant presence throughout the festival.
The foundation was an immersive environment shaped through environmental graphics and spatial storytelling—designed to invite discovery and interaction. This extended into bold, culture-forward campaign visuals rooted in music and movement, forming a flexible system that scaled across the festival.
Content and social amplified the experience in real time, translating its energy into shareable moments beyond the physical space. Throughout, brand integration was handled with intention—seamlessly weaving product and messaging into the experience without disrupting its authenticity.
Impact
The activation positioned McDonald's as more than a sponsor—establishing it as an active participant in culture.
By blending experiential design with storytelling, the project helped:
Strengthen brand affinity within a key audience
Create a shareable, high-energy presence at a major cultural moment
Demonstrate how global brands can show up authentically in community-driven spaces
