McDonald's restaurants throughout the world have been closing their doors and switching
to takeout-only service as people practice sometimes government-mandated social distancing
to avoid spreading coronavirus.
CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC that because of drive-thru and delivery,
"We are better set up than most in terms of being able to continue to operate in what
is certainly a very trying time."
McDonald's Brazil decided to express its solidarity with customers trying their best to keep their
distance from one another through a grand, but seemingly misguided gesture.
The brand made a very significant alteration to its iconic logo, adopting a version where
the iconic golden arches were standing apart from each other.
The separated arches, meant as a super-sized reminder that people can stop the spread of
the virus by keeping their distance from one another, were designed by the advertising
agency DPZ&T.
No physical alterations were made to store signage, but the redesigned logo was introduced
on the chain's Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.
McDonald's Brazil claimed to be expressing the sweet thought that,
"[We're all] separated for a moment so that we can always be together."
Yet AdAge reveals that the reactions to McDonald's Brazil quickly let the brand know that very
few customers were willing to accept that sentiment at face value.
Within a week of unveiling this new logo, McDonald's Brazil removed it from most of
its social media accounts, even altering a YouTube video, and though it's popped up on
some other McDonald's social media accounts, it doesn't look like the socially-distancing
arches will be too prominent in the more than 100 other countries where McDonald's has a
presence.
Instead of applauding McDonald's for its support in this time of crisis, angry users on Twitter
were almost instantaneously slamming the chain for its insensitivity.
One tweet from Lucian Trestler told Mickey D's to,
"F--- RIGHT OFF YOU AWARD-DESPERATE MORONS."
Trestler continued,
"The source of my anger is that this is a disingenuous scam ad to win awards.
Which would normally only annoy me but it enrages me when the topic is a global pandemic."
Another Twitter user, Amanda Irel, told McDonald's:
"stop changing your logo for every event and actually f---ing DO something.
nobody cares how you've reformatted your 'beloved' arches."
As to what that something might be, yet another tweet, from David Ligon, showed concern for
the minimum wage workers who are risking their own health to stay on the job during this
health crisis.
Ligon suggested to McDonald's management:
"How about pay your workers a living wage!"
Nobody particularly seemed to be lovin' the new logo, and in response, McDonald's issued
the following statement:
"We apologize for any misunderstanding of the intent to remind our customers and communities
on the importance of social distancing during these uncertain times."
McDonald's restaurants in the United Kingdom have also changed their signage in response
to Covid-19.
There are no alterations to the arches, but all branches will be sporting signs marking
them as closed for the time being.
All of the U.K.'s chains, at present, no longer even offer takeout or delivery, a policy which
several other U.K. restaurant chains have since also adopted.
This action, the chain announced, was prompted by concerns for, quote, "the well-being and
safety of our employees...as well as...the best interests of our customers."
While the BBC reports that this will leave 135,000 people out of work, McDonald's will
be paying all of its workers their full wages for the hours they would have been scheduled
through April 5.
This move seems to have been fairly well accepted by customers for the most part, but it did
irk some employees and their family members who first learned of this move through the
company's Twitter announcement.
They complained accordingly in the comments.
One said,
"Would've been nice if they told their staff, my sister has just found out off of social
media that she now doesn’t have a job for the forseeable! - with rent to pay she’s
worried"
And there is some evidence that McDonald's supportive public face during the coronavirus
pandemic doesn't necessarily match up to what it's doing behind the scenes.
Audio of an internal conference call obtained by Business Insider seemed to indicate that
the fast-food giant was pushing back against proposed requirements in Congress' coronavirus
relief bill to guarantee U.S. restaurant workers two weeks of paid sick leave.
David Tovar, McDonald's vice president of U.S. communications, reportedly said on the
call that the company was "pulling out all the stops" to "fix the bill" and shield franchisees
from the expense of paying sick leave.
In an opinion video for the New York Times, McDonald's Shift Manager Fran Marion offered
the employees side:
"If I got the coronavirus, would you want me making your next meal?"
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Mashed videos about fast-food chains are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.