McDonald’s Canada has put a Toronto Raptors-inspired spin – or, rather, a swirl – on one of its classic treats.

In its Ontario restaurants, the QSR is launching a Raptors-hued Siakam Swirl McFlurry, named in homage of Pascal Siakam and his recognizable spin move. It’s the “first-ever McDonald’s Canada menu item inspired by an athlete,” says Leilah Ambrose, group CD for Cossette, the restaurant’s AOR. “Being able to tap into Pascal’s authentic fandom gave us creative license to make this collaboration feel truly ownable, fresh and fun.”

The McFlurry is made up of vanilla soft serve, hot fudge and crushed Red Smarties – a nod to one of the Raps’ primary colours. But there’s more to this partnership than first meets the eye. In fact, the Raptors played their first game in Canada in 1995, which was the same year that McDonald’s Canada franchisee Ron McLellan invented the McFlurry in his New Brunswick franchise.

In a playful spot promoting the new McFlurry flavour, Siakam is holding a mock press conference at which he confesses his spin move is actually a swirl. When a sportscaster wonders on-air how he came up with the move, a quick cut implies that the Raptors star got the idea from the iconic ice cream snack.

This new partnership is a deepening of the brand’s relationship with the Toronto Raptors, says Chuck Coolen, McDonald’s Canada’s marketing lead in Eastern Canada.

That partnership has also included the “Beyond the Arch” program that lets fans score free medium fries as part of a meal purchase on days following Raptors games where the team scores twelve or more 3-pointers, as well as the restaurant’s “Power of 3s” program, where it donates $133 to MLSE’s Change the Game initiative every time the Raps make a 3-point shot during the 2022-23 season, up to $200,000.

The campaign is running across TV, OLV, social and OOH, as well as samplings from a Siakam Swirl-branded McFlurry truck outside Scotiabank Arena as fans leave Raptors games. Weber Shandwick handled PR and OMD handled media.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s also launched a new campaign supporting the Big Mac. As Gen Z does not consider the burger an icon, as other generations do, it enlisted six young Canadian artists to show all the different culturally relevant avenues the Big Mac could appear in. The results included a jewel-encrusted grill, 3D characters and flower arrangements.