Working alongside a friend can mean the difference between your job being a daily slog and the hours flying by. But in most cases, especially when it comes to service-industry jobs, you have to make friends on arrival rather than bringing them with you.

McDonald’s Canada, however, is encouraging friends to apply together. The brand says that young people are more likely to apply and stick with a job if they work with friends, and McDonald’s has even created the ability for online job seekers to apply alongside friends through an online job portal.

To help encourage more applications in this vein, the Canadian branch of the fast food giant has rolled out a series of ads featuring two goofy friends working side-by-side at a McDonald’s:

“One of the key benefits of working at a McDonald’s restaurant is the camaraderie among crew members,” says Antoinette Benoit, CMO of McDonald’s Canada. “With this campaign, we are celebrating the spirit of friendship while continuing to build on and express our ongoing belief in Canadian youth.”

The brand also hosted a “Snapplications” virtual hiring fair on March 27 and is providing all its owner-operators with a recruiting kit that includes digital and print ads, tray liners and crew stickers.

The spots are from agency Cossette, best known for its award-winning work for clients like SickKids.

Jordan Hamer, associate creative director for Cossette, says the McDonald’s work helps highlight how the brand is evolving to keep pace with a new generation of potential employees.

“It’s a simple but powerful shift that has the potential to not just double the number of potential applications, but makes the idea of working with friends real,” Hamer says. “McDonald’s has always been a big employer of youth and this strategy is a direct response to how today’s young workers want to engage with employers.”

CREDITS:

Title: Friends Wanted

Client: McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada Limited

Marketing:

Antoinette Benoit – Chief Marketing Officer

Hope Bagozzi – Marketing Officer

Melanie Courtois – Senior Marketing Manager

HR: Stephanie Hardman, Chief People Officer

Agency: Cossette

Global Chief Creative Officers: Peter Ignazi, Carlos Moreno

Group Creative Director: Jon Frier

Associate Creative Directors: Spencer Dingle, Jordan Hamer

Art Director: Tyler Robitaille

Copywriter: Ellen Porteous

Senior Designer: Eric Wood

SVP, Managing Director: Kathy McGuire

VP, Client Lead: Sarah Jue

Account Executive: Valerie Traitses

Strategist: Jeff McCrory

Sr. Digital Project Manager: Jeff Maynard

Senior Director, Communications: Stacey Masson

External Communications Manager: Kali Pearson

Media Agency: OMD

Director: James Haworth

DOP: Stuart Campbell

Production House: Circle Productions

Agency Producer: Erica Metcalfe

Executive Producer: Karen Tameanko

Development Executive: Laurence Payne

Casting: Steven Mann, Mann Casting

Sound: Berkeley Inc.