posted on by Ken Iikura-Gross
McDonald’s Japan previewed a new set of commercials for its annual summer Big Mac campaign on Thursday, and it chose the perfect director to celebrate both nostalgia and summer. The “When You Say ‘Summer,’ Then and Now” commercials feature iconic scenes from Mamoru Hosoda films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and Wolf Children. This year’s gold-medal-winning figure-skater pair Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara and Sakurazaka46 idol group member Hikaru Morita also star in the commercials’ live-action segments.
あの頃も今も、夏といえば#時をかける少女#サマーウォーズ#おおかみこどもの雨と雪#りくりゅう #森田ひかる pic.twitter.com/PqBKoSaWUo
— マクドナルド (@McDonaldsJapan) June 24, 2026
The commercials revive Japan’s 1980s Coca-Cola jingle “I feel Coke” by Daisuke Inoue to promote the “strongest combo,” a Big Mac with Coca-Cola. The commercials (in 30-, 60-, and 120-second lengths) are available on the McDonald’s Japan YouTube channel (but not viewable outside of Japan). The commercial will start airing in Japan on June 30.
This is the second year in a row McDonald’s Japan has partnered with anime for its nostalgic summer Big Mac campaign. Last year, the campaign used clips from 1980s anime Maison Ikkoku, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?, and Kimagure Orange Road. Maison Ikkoku creator Rumiko Takahashi and Macross franchise co-creator Shōji Kawamori gave messages in support of the campaign.
Sources: McDonald’s Japan X/Twitter account, McDonald’s Japan‘s YouTube channel (link 2, link 3), Comic Natalie
