DEEPER STUDY / McDonald’s / 2018
The Flip: International Women’s Day
Changing an instantly recognisable asset creates a compact visual announcement, while employee and franchisee stories supply the human context.
AI-assisted research and analysis for the SNS Creative Fieldbook
Sources reviewed 6 November 2026
The original campaign creators did not write or endorse this analysis.
Original campaign credits: Advertiser: McDonald’s; Corporate spokesperson: Wendy Lewis, Global Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Global Community Engagement.
Recognition: No award claim is made in this study.
Launch / edition: 2018. Award years: No award claim.
The problem. The idea. The experience.
Celebrate women’s achievements for International Women’s Day.
How the idea came to life
Golden Arches were inverted to form a W.
How it reached people
A company-published article connected the visual change to women in its restaurant system.
Supporting sources: Primary: company-published article by Wendy Lewis →
Read the data in context.
The numbers below describe different kinds of outcomes. Their date, scope and reporting source are part of the result.
The source documents the gesture and stories, not an equality outcome.
Read the campaign story
On International Women's Day in 2018, McDonald's changed a brand asset people normally recognise without reading anything. It turned the Golden Arches upside down so the familiar M became a W. The change gave the company a concise visual way to mark the occasion, but the brand's own explanation also directed attention to women working within its restaurant system. The campaign was presented as a celebration of women's achievements, particularly those connected with McDonald's.
In a company-published article, global chief diversity officer Wendy Lewis described the stories of owner-operator Patricia Williams and her daughters, Kerri Harper-Howie and Nicole Enearu. The article also featured a restaurant employee whose development into a general manager was supported through mentorship. These accounts gave the logo alteration people and relationships to point toward. Lewis acknowledged that the company still had work to do, rather than claiming that the commemorative action demonstrated the completion of gender equality.
The useful creative interpretation is that a small alteration can carry a large message when the original shape is already distinctive. Audiences supply the familiar version in their minds, and the difference becomes the announcement. That advantage cannot be assumed for an unfamiliar brand, and symbolism creates an invitation to examine the business behind it. For marketers, the case is therefore both a lesson in visual economy and a reminder to connect recognition campaigns with specific, supportable stories. A logo can open the conversation; the organisation's ongoing practices determine what it can credibly say next.
Check asset recognition
Test whether your audience recognises the original asset before relying on a subtle alteration.
Ground the symbol
Pair a symbolic change with specific people and facts rather than generic celebration copy.
Prepare for scrutiny
Review the relevant workplace practices before a commemorative campaign invites closer scrutiny.
A small test for another brief
A company tests a restrained anniversary alteration of one familiar brand asset, alongside an accurate story about a consenting employee's work and a verifiable operational commitment.
Measure recognition of the brand and correct understanding of the commitment; review staff feedback privately and voluntarily.
Stop if the symbolic change invites a claim that operating practices cannot support or staff participation is coerced.
- Test whether your audience recognises the original asset before relying on a subtle alteration.
- Pair a symbolic change with specific people and facts rather than generic celebration copy.
- Agree on one outcome, a reasonable comparison and the stop condition before release.
Sources & further reading.
These are educational analyses of external campaigns, not SNS client projects. Source-backed campaign details, editorial interpretation and proposed tests are distinguished. Brand and campaign-entry reports are not independent causal audits.
- McDonald’s: Celebrating women everywhere on the journey to progress →Primary: company-published article by Wendy Lewis · Supports: March 8 International Women’s Day arches flip; stated purpose; Williams family and mentorship examples; acknowledgement of continuing work.