McDonald's Japan Teams Up With 130-Member Girl-Pop Group To Create Anime Recruitment Ad

McDonald's Japan has teamed up with AKB48, the Japanese girl group with a whopping 130 current members (originally 48), to create a new recruitment ad for its "Join the Crew" campaign.

Tapping into two of young Japan's favorite things — anime and pop idols — McDonald's Japan created six different versions of the ad, capitalizing on AKB48's wide membership.

Characters in the ad are voiced by different members of AKB48, the country's highest-earning musical group. Members of AKB48 range in age from their teens to late 20s, and like Menudo, members are eventually phased out of the group and replaced with younger performers.

The ad, called "Mirai no Watashi" (the Future Me), features a new McDonald's worker who struggles at first, but soon becomes an efficient employee. Later, she is able to return the favor when she takes a new employee under her wing.