If there’s one thing advertising art directors love to do, it’s go retro, especially when that means getting to go all out on hair, makeup, wardrobe and filters with the photo shoot. That said, the approach can sometimes feel a bit shoehorned into being a lazy reference that’s disconnected from the product.

Luckily, this campaign uses the concept to good effect. TBWA\Paris created a series of posters about the “Timeless” Big Mac, which turned 50 this year—serving as fodder for a litany of ad campaigns from the fast food chain’s agencies around the globe. Leo Burnett London, for example, created a fun spot earlier this revisiting the Big Mac’s first days.

The new French poster campaign takes a minimalist approach in its ode to previous eras, with simple and eye-catching photos featuring the popular styles of the Big Mac’s formative years in the late ’60s and into the ’80s. (French culture seems to have been well in line with U.S. fads.)

The posters don’t overly glamorize the earlier decades, but they’re also not quite as condescending as automaker Skoda’s recent “Ugly in the ’90s” campaign. But they perfectly convey the Big Mac’s enduring popularity—and leave you wondering what a ‘2010s’ poster might look like in the future.

CREDITS:

Agency: TBWA\PARIS

Advertiser Managers: Maurizio Biondi, Clémence Arnaud, Floriane Triacca

Agency Managers: Luc Bourgery, Marc Fraissinet, Agathe Bruneau, Priscilla Vaudevire

Executive Creative Directors: Benjamin Marchal and Faustin Claverie

Artistic Director: Philippe Taroux

Copywriter: Benoit Leroux

Art Buyer: Elise Kubler

Photographer: Felipe Barbosa