Ingenious optical illusion ads will make you see McDonald's on every dancefloor

Ever felt a craving for a burger and fries after a night out? This McDonald's ad campaign could explain everything. A series of typically minimalist poster designs depict nightclub scenes with an expected protagonist.

The instantly recognisable golden arches of the McDonald's logo appear as an optical illusion cast by lasers and lighting on dancefloors. Simple and effective, it ingeniously depicts McDonald's as the place for an afterparty.

The best logo designs are versatile enough to use in many applications. Usually that means app icons, print materials, websites, signage, but McDonald's advertising agencies have become masters at working the fastfood giant's brand assets into the most unexpected of scenes. We've already seen the McDonald's logo as tail lights reflected on a wet road and menu items disguised as people's front doors.

In its latest campaign, McDonald’s Sweden tapped into the spirit of a night out to present its restaurants as the places to head after a clubbing session. The out-of-home billboard ads show no obvious branding. Instead, each features an image that, at close glance, reveals optical illusion subtly alluding to the McDonald's logo in beams of light passing over a dancefloor. In small type, a message reads 'Welcome after closing time'.

The campaign is the work of NORD DDB, which says the posters were placed strategically near bars and clubs to remind partygoers that the golden arches are never far away and to suggest that the night doesn't end when the club closes; it just changes scene.

The clever campaign recognises an existing trend. Many people end a night out at McDonald's since they're ubiquitous and tend to open late, but this is a use that the brand hasn't tended to embrace in its advertising. The campaign changes that while capturing the energy and movement of the dance floor and making McDonald's part of the experience of a night out.

For more inspiration, see our pick of the best billboard ads.