McDonald’s is making the headlines again this week with a quickfire new campaign for its ‘Mini Hash Browns’, hot on the heels of its big McRib reveal just a few days ago.

Developed in partnership with creative agency Leo Burnett UK, the tongue-in-cheek work spotlights the “family history” of the breakfast favourite with the integrated ‘Descended from greatness’ campaign.

Tapping into the cultural fascination with ancestry and genealogy, the new work will drive excitement by tracing the product’s “illustrious lineage” back to the restaurant chain’s original Hash Browns.

“We know if asked, most people would say an iconic McDonald’s breakfast would not be the same without a cheeky Hash Brown,” McDonald’s marketing manager Lucy Johnson said.

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“Which is why we are so excited to be launching Mini Hash Browns, playing on this latent love, and tracing their lineage back to the OG golden-hued, crunchy McDonald’s Hash Brown. This simple yet playful campaign shows how excited we are that they are a part of the ultimate family tree.”

Running across out-of-home, social media, radio and display, the campaign will be amplified by a series of humorous activations that poke fun at this ancestry obsession. Media planning and buying was handled by OMD UK.

Leo Burnett UK creative directors James Hodson and Jason Keet added: “DNA testing at home has sparked a craze for ancestry and lineage, which has swept the internet and beyond. What does this have to do with launching a tasty new breakfast snack? Good question.

“Thanks to the magic of creativity, everything. New Mini Hash Browns are so tasty because their lineage can be traced back to true greatness: the original McDonald’s Hash Brown.”