Off The Record
McDonald’s Made A Strong Statement By Turning Its Arches Upside Down
According to the Official International Women’s Day website, March 8th “is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.” If you drove past the McDonald’s in Lynwood, CA, in 2018, you might have thought you were getting punked.
You may have spotted what seemed to be a Matrix glitch if you woke up the next day and looked through your Facebook page. Or more proof that you appeared in a live-action Black Mirror episode.
Those theories were all false. At that moment, you may have removed the tin foil hat.
Your eyes were not deceiving you: McDonald’s iconic arches logo had been flipped upside down. It looked like a big, bubbly “W” at the time and had nothing to do with their ongoing Twitter feud with Wendy’s.
The logo had been flipped in “celebration of women everywhere.” A McDonald’s representative had said.
The sign flip at the Lynwood, California, location may have already been visible to the public, but on Thursday, March 8th, also known as International Women’s Day, Mickey D’s posted an image of its arches upside down on social media.
Workers wore hats and shirts with the “W”-shaped emblem. Additionally, the logo was used on special packaging in 100 locations across the country.
McDonald’s spokesperson, Wendy Lewis, offered some insight
“For the first time in our brand history, we flipped our iconic arches for International Women’s Day in honor of the extraordinary accomplishments of women everywhere and especially in our restaurants.” McDonald’s Chief Diversity Officer Wendy Lewis said.
McDonald’s spokesperson Lauren Altmin said that the logo change was in celebration of women everywhere. “We have a long history of supporting women in the workplace, giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed.” Says Altmin. “In the U.S., we take pride in our diversity and we are proud to share that today, six out of 10 restaurant managers are women. The logo will be changed on all of the company’s social media channels and 100 restaurants will have special packaging, crew shirts and hats and bag stuffers.”
Other brands had taken on similar initiatives to acknowledge women, such as Johnnie Walker releasing a ‘Jane Walker’ bottle.
Donating $1 per bottle towards charities benefiting women. “Important conversations about gender continue to be at the forefront of culture. And we strongly believe there is no better time than now to introduce our Jane Walker icon and contribute to pioneering organizations that share our mission.” Stephanie Jacoby, vice president of Johnnie Walker said: “We are proud to toast the many achievements of women and everyone on the journey towards progress in gender equality.”
Brawny had started a campaign called “Strength Knows No Gender,” putting women in place of the Brawny Man and giving Girls, Inc. $100,000.
A nonprofit that provided financial and leadership training to young women. McDonald’s had not disclosed that it would contribute to this cause.
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