Powerful reason McDonald’s flipped its iconic sign upside down

The McDonald's golden arches is one of the most recognisable logos out there.

Going strong now for over six decades, the design was first created in 1962 and, since then, pretty much everyone has spotted the distinctive 'M' plastered just about everywhere.

But, it's clear that not everyone knows that Maccies once flipped its iconic sign upside down to make somewhat of a political statement.

The fast-food chain decided to quite literally turn its iconic branding upside down so the 'M' read as a 'W'.

Now, the home of the Big Mac and Happy Meal has long prided itself on helping women in the workplace,

Six out of ten of the fast food giant's US managers are women so, to kick off International Women's Day in 2018 - McDonald's decided to make a public tribute to its female workforce and their contributions to the business.

McDonald's chief diversity officer, Wendy Lewis, said the flip to the 'W' for 'women' sign was meant to honour women everywhere and within the company.

The change, which took place in both 2018 and 2019, was undertaken at a California restaurant with the grand gesture subsequently being shared across social media.

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their support for the campaign with one praising: "Happy International Women’s Day! Love this from Mcdonald’s!"

Others, however, clearly weren't as balled over by the IWD gesture.

Laura Parker, who was the national coordinator for Labour pressure group Momentum, branded it 'McFeminism'.

Another critic pointed out: "How much did this sign swap cost? How is that helping women? Cheaper than traditional advertising is likely the real deciding factor."

Maccies recently released their long-awaited Christmas advert which features a with a touching nod to a classic British rom-com.

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The ad is a continuation of the company's 'Raise Your Arches' series, which sees fans of the grub to raise their eyebrows to signal when they want some McDonald's.

Set to Van Halen's smash-hit 'Jump', the ad starts off showing a range of typical scenes I'm sure we're all too familiar with at this time of year from watching your kids' never-ending Nativity play, standing in line at a packed-out Santa's Grotto, waiting for inevitably delayed trains and barely tolerating an extremely awkward office Christmas party.

While doing such tasks, people raise their brows to one another as a quick-fire way of communicating those three beautiful words: "Fancy a McDonald's?"

McDonald's

As the 90-second advert continues, it gives a sweet little reference to one of the iconic scenes in Love Actually where Mark (Andrew Lincoln) knocks on the door of Juliet (Keira Knightley) while her husband Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is in the other room.

In order to communicate with her without Peter hearing, Mark holds up a series of signs which start off with 'Say its carol singers' and goes on to confess his love to Juliet on her doorstep.

And Maccies decided to take some inspo from the cult classic, with the ad later showing a man holding up signs that read 'Fancy a McDonald's?' while a buzzing crowd behind him all clearly had the same idea as they headed to the fast food chain to grab a bite.

Topics: McDonalds, Food and Drink

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 in English Literature. Alongside her studies, she was the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Her favourite topics to write about include sex and relationships, bizarre lifestyle trends and all things travel.