YumChums (partially lost British McDonald's TV commercials; 2004)
Combined pictures from McDonald's brochure.
Status: Partially Lost
YumChums are a series of advertisements created by McDonald's UK, which aired between 2004 and 2005. Unusual for the fast-food chain, these advertisements had little to do with their brand but focused more on healthy lifestyles, targeted towards younger children. This campaign also introduced a group of colourful characters, referred to as YumChums.
Overview
Every advert would have a premise; the viewer would be introduced to Ronald McDonald doing an activity in a playroom, similar to one found in a youth centre. Upon hearing a strange noise, he would tell the viewers that they are his YumChums, who live inside of him. Ronald would then proceed to rub his stomach and ask himself "yum yum, what's going on in my tum?"
Following this live-action segment, the screen fades to black. The void would then show a few cartoon eyes filling the screen making comments if they're ready. After this, the darkness would then fade into a colourful world featuring the YumChum gang, including:
- A purple, blobby character clad in skateboarding gear.
- A mermaid-esque creature with a spiky hairstyle.
- A stumpy green creature wearing rounded glasses.
- A round, bigfoot-like monster.
- A blue bouncy ball with a backwards cap.
These characters would perform one of the following songs below:
- Too Many Treats: (Found) This advert had the characters playing as if they were in a playground while singing a song about treats. Originally being used as an intro to each of the three songs below, it was later used as a standalone advert in 2005. The advert was recovered on April 24, 2021, by YouTuber "{insert channel name here}".
- 5 a Day: (Partially Lost) This advert involves the group of characters turning into fruit and vegetables, high-fiving each other, and singing about eating 5 food groups a day. One notable part involves the big monster character growing an apple stem on top of its head. In 2005, it was shortened to remove the first verse. The 2005 version of the advert was recovered on June 16th, 2017 by YouTuber Gondarth.
- Drinking Water: This advert had the characters swimming in water whilst singing a song about it. One part is known to feature the green creature character drinking water from a bottle and breaking the fourth wall by telling the viewer to drink plenty of water, and another featuring Ronald McDonald drinking water from a water cooler.
- Exercise: (Found) This advert featured the characters doing activities and playing football/soccer with the bouncy ball creature. The advert was recovered on June 30, 2017, by YouTuber Gondarth.
At the end of the songs, it would return to Ronald McDonald in the playroom. He would usually be shown doing an activity related to the song, like juggling fruit or keeping fit, while explaining to the viewer tips on healthy living. The adverts would end with the URL for the YumChums website. In 2005, the ending was reshot to depict Ronald saying "It's what I eat, and what I do", before ending with the recognisable McDonald's slogan, "I'm lovin' it".
Lyrics of the Songs
Too Many Treats
Don't let your YumChums get glum,
put healthy stuff in your tum!
Think about the things you eat,
don't give us too many treats!
Run about, jump around and play
and you will feel yummy every day.
Five-A-Day
We're looking for our veggies,
5 a day is what we need.
We've got to have our veggies today,
hey hey!
We're feeling kinda fruity,
come on now be good to me!
We've got to have'em all to play,
hey hey!
We're looking for our veggies,
5 a day is what we need.
We've got to have our veggies today,
hey hey!
5, gimme 5. Gimme gimme gimme 5-a-day!
5, gimme 5. Gimme gimme gimme 5-a-day!
We're feeling kinda fruity,
come on now be good to me!
We've got to have'em all to play,
hey hey HEY!
Drinking Water
Exercise
Availability
For a while, these advertisements were considered to be lost media, only having the images taken from the 2006 McDonald's Report showcasing what appears to be for the YumChums website. Speaking of which, the .swf file from the site has been archived, but the only thing that remains is the loading screen.
However, come June 2017, two of the advertisements were found from two Nick Jr. continuities by YouTuber Gondarth, being the "5-A-Day" and "Excercise" spots. Additionally the "Too Many Treats" spot was found and uploaded by YouTuber BlueFrog on April 2021, leaving only one advertisement and the original version of another to be found and uploaded.