Rebranding McDonald's

[Steve-O]

unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years.

bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if

you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see.

I'm going to be doing both! So you don't have to hate on all of us now. Hopefully I can change your opinion!

[Davidson]

unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years.

bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if

you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see.

I'm going to be doing both! So you don't have to hate on all of us now. Hopefully I can change your opinion!

just so long your job isnt to tell me how to do my job, we ll get on just fine.

cross the line and ill cut your gums out

[STL FANATIC]

The new McDonalds are of a classier look (obviously, it's just a look), in a coffee shop with WiFi type of way, not a retro restaurant type of way.

I'd try moving that direction.

Although, to be honest, I don't know if they can do better than a plain, no or maybe single (depending on bg color) outline, no shadow double arch M. It's just the tops really.

[pcgd]

I think the problem you're having is you are trying to redesign one of the 2 logos pretty much everyone references as being the most successful brands in the history of marketing. The other of course being Nike. Imagine if you tried to redesign the swoosh...nothing would work. The golden arches have largely been unchanged since they were first developed in the 60s from the arches that adorned the restaurants. the only changes have been small bevels, or changes to the color per the marketing campaign.

I think if that's what you're going for (a marketing campaign), you should maintain the general M as is.

[oddball]

I've thought about this since I first ran across this post, I think last week.

#1 If you're going to redesign a logo because you think you have an idea that would work, by all means go for it and if you want people's opinions then go ahead and post it. I would say though if you do, make sure you check your spelling and punctuation and have it proper before positing. Post it as if you would be showing it to the company, if you came to McDonald's with a wordmark without the apostrophe, they'd throw you out. If you sit there and don't think punctuation and spelling are important because you're of this new age who thinks that you spell rocks by using r-o-x, or by using text messaging shorthand, well in the real world and when you're dealing with Fortune 500 companies you better know how to spell and use punctuation and know how to properly use a company logo and wordmark when presenting. There's a reason they are successful and a Fortune 500 company. If you're going to design for your local t-shirt company that is going nowhere and you're doing stupid shirts for 16 year olds to wear to school thinking their cool, then I guess it's alright to do... I guess. If you're going to present to us a new McDonald's logo then, by all means do it. If you accidentally forgot the apostrophe, it happens, but don't sit there and try and slide it by and then give the lazy response, "I was testing it out" or something to that effect when you purposely incorrectly left out the apostrophe. It belongs there. Also if you're going to redo a marketing campaign with a new logo, then brand it as that. Say, "Hey, I'm a little tired of the 'I'm Lovin' It' campaign and I thought I'd change it and maybe try a new logo. Don't be lazy when you design or have an idea. I hope this didn't come around as being too harsh.

#2 To the person who typed this:

"unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years. bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see."

First of all, I'm still trying to figure out what "unfortunately im proffessor means", I hope it's my professor, to which if he worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years then either get new marketing people or he needs to know how to work with them better. If you think that marketing people are a poor man's advertiser, then you have no clue. I only say that because marketing and advertising work hand in hand. You can have the greatest ad campaign out there but if you have no idea who your target audience is or when the most appropriate time to place an ad is, then your campaign will fail. To put it into simple terms, would you expect a Christmas campaign for a Christmas cd to do well in May? No, because it's the wrong time of the year to sell that. Marketing is road map of advertising. Without marketing you're advertising in a shotgun style just throwing ideas out there and hoping to get the people you want. It's marketing who does the research and knows these people and actually can tell you things like what they like to drink, where they eat out, if they watch tv and when, what their favorite shows are, their age range, what kind of car they drive, their ethnicity, and with that you can possibly even have someone draw up the person that you are targeting, and having that information will give an ad campaign a higher chance of succeeding. They key thing is, you have to work hand in hand with marketing and if you don't understand what they're telling or you don't listen to them, then you're going to have problems, and that is probably your professor's problem. Don't get the attitude that you're better than marketing or you too will have problems with them, work with them and you'll be better off in the end.

[averyj]

I've thought about this since I first ran across this post, I think last week.

#1 If you're going to redesign a logo because you think you have an idea that would work, by all means go for it and if you want people's opinions then go ahead and post it. I would say though if you do, make sure you check your spelling and punctuation and have it proper before positing. Post it as if you would be showing it to the company, if you came to McDonald's with a wordmark without the apostrophe, they'd throw you out. If you sit there and don't think punctuation and spelling are important because you're of this new age who thinks that you spell rocks by using r-o-x, or by using text messaging shorthand, well in the real world and when you're dealing with Fortune 500 companies you better know how to spell and use punctuation and know how to properly use a company logo and wordmark when presenting. There's a reason they are successful and a Fortune 500 company. If you're going to design for your local t-shirt company that is going nowhere and you're doing stupid shirts for 16 year olds to wear to school thinking their cool, then I guess it's alright to do... I guess. If you're going to present to us a new McDonald's logo then, by all means do it. If you accidentally forgot the apostrophe, it happens, but don't sit there and try and slide it by and then give the lazy response, "I was testing it out" or something to that effect when you purposely incorrectly left out the apostrophe. It belongs there. Also if you're going to redo a marketing campaign with a new logo, then brand it as that. Say, "Hey, I'm a little tired of the 'I'm Lovin' It' campaign and I thought I'd change it and maybe try a new logo. Don't be lazy when you design or have an idea. I hope this didn't come around as being too harsh.

#2 To the person who typed this:

"unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years. bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see."

First of all, I'm still trying to figure out what "unfortunately im proffessor means", I hope it's my professor, to which if he worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years then either get new marketing people or he needs to know how to work with them better. If you think that marketing people are a poor man's advertiser, then you have no clue. I only say that because marketing and advertising work hand in hand. You can have the greatest ad campaign out there but if you have no idea who your target audience is or when the most appropriate time to place an ad is, then your campaign will fail. To put it into simple terms, would you expect a Christmas campaign for a Christmas cd to do well in May? No, because it's the wrong time of the year to sell that. Marketing is road map of advertising. Without marketing you're advertising in a shotgun style just throwing ideas out there and hoping to get the people you want. It's marketing who does the research and knows these people and actually can tell you things like what they like to drink, where they eat out, if they watch tv and when, what their favorite shows are, their age range, what kind of car they drive, their ethnicity, and with that you can possibly even have someone draw up the person that you are targeting, and having that information will give an ad campaign a higher chance of succeeding. They key thing is, you have to work hand in hand with marketing and if you don't understand what they're telling or you don't listen to them, then you're going to have problems, and that is probably your professor's problem. Don't get the attitude that you're better than marketing or you too will have problems with them, work with them and you'll be better off in the end.

Someone needs a nap.

[BostonBlazer]

Well, McDonald's is recognizable easily enough with simply the M. Anything else would really be superfluous IMO.

How cute, Padsox learned a new word in school.

Indubitably!

It's already been said, but "World Class Hamburgers" and McDonald's do not belong in the same sentence!

What about the sentence "McDonald's doesn't make World Class Hamburgers." They're in the same sentence and it makes perfect sense.

[fiasco!]

I've thought about this since I first ran across this post, I think last week.

#1 If you're going to redesign a logo because you think you have an idea that would work, by all means go for it and if you want people's opinions then go ahead and post it. I would say though if you do, make sure you check your spelling and punctuation and have it proper before positing. Post it as if you would be showing it to the company, if you came to McDonald's with a wordmark without the apostrophe, they'd throw you out. If you sit there and don't think punctuation and spelling are important because you're of this new age who thinks that you spell rocks by using r-o-x, or by using text messaging shorthand, well in the real world and when you're dealing with Fortune 500 companies you better know how to spell and use punctuation and know how to properly use a company logo and wordmark when presenting. There's a reason they are successful and a Fortune 500 company. If you're going to design for your local t-shirt company that is going nowhere and you're doing stupid shirts for 16 year olds to wear to school thinking their cool, then I guess it's alright to do... I guess. If you're going to present to us a new McDonald's logo then, by all means do it. If you accidentally forgot the apostrophe, it happens, but don't sit there and try and slide it by and then give the lazy response, "I was testing it out" or something to that effect when you purposely incorrectly left out the apostrophe. It belongs there. Also if you're going to redo a marketing campaign with a new logo, then brand it as that. Say, "Hey, I'm a little tired of the 'I'm Lovin' It' campaign and I thought I'd change it and maybe try a new logo. Don't be lazy when you design or have an idea. I hope this didn't come around as being too harsh.

#2 To the person who typed this:

"unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years. bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see."

First of all, I'm still trying to figure out what "unfortunately im proffessor means", I hope it's my professor, to which if he worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years then either get new marketing people or he needs to know how to work with them better. If you think that marketing people are a poor man's advertiser, then you have no clue. I only say that because marketing and advertising work hand in hand. You can have the greatest ad campaign out there but if you have no idea who your target audience is or when the most appropriate time to place an ad is, then your campaign will fail. To put it into simple terms, would you expect a Christmas campaign for a Christmas cd to do well in May? No, because it's the wrong time of the year to sell that. Marketing is road map of advertising. Without marketing you're advertising in a shotgun style just throwing ideas out there and hoping to get the people you want. It's marketing who does the research and knows these people and actually can tell you things like what they like to drink, where they eat out, if they watch tv and when, what their favorite shows are, their age range, what kind of car they drive, their ethnicity, and with that you can possibly even have someone draw up the person that you are targeting, and having that information will give an ad campaign a higher chance of succeeding. They key thing is, you have to work hand in hand with marketing and if you don't understand what they're telling or you don't listen to them, then you're going to have problems, and that is probably your professor's problem. Don't get the attitude that you're better than marketing or you too will have problems with them, work with them and you'll be better off in the end.

Someone needs a nap.

No. Oddball hit the nail on the head.

[oddball]

Actually, I do need a nap! I hope that didn't come across as being too harsh, I didn't mean it to be. I don't mean to be so blunt, but I want to see people's best work. I hate laziness, when I know you can do better. As far as the marketing part, if someone doesn't understand something and another does, it's the obligation of the one who does know to inform those who don't know. It's how you start to bridge gaps.

[Davidson]

I've thought about this since I first ran across this post, I think last week.

#1 If you're going to redesign a logo because you think you have an idea that would work, by all means go for it and if you want people's opinions then go ahead and post it. I would say though if you do, make sure you check your spelling and punctuation and have it proper before positing. Post it as if you would be showing it to the company, if you came to McDonald's with a wordmark without the apostrophe, they'd throw you out. If you sit there and don't think punctuation and spelling are important because you're of this new age who thinks that you spell rocks by using r-o-x, or by using text messaging shorthand, well in the real world and when you're dealing with Fortune 500 companies you better know how to spell and use punctuation and know how to properly use a company logo and wordmark when presenting. There's a reason they are successful and a Fortune 500 company. If you're going to design for your local t-shirt company that is going nowhere and you're doing stupid shirts for 16 year olds to wear to school thinking their cool, then I guess it's alright to do... I guess. If you're going to present to us a new McDonald's logo then, by all means do it. If you accidentally forgot the apostrophe, it happens, but don't sit there and try and slide it by and then give the lazy response, "I was testing it out" or something to that effect when you purposely incorrectly left out the apostrophe. It belongs there. Also if you're going to redo a marketing campaign with a new logo, then brand it as that. Say, "Hey, I'm a little tired of the 'I'm Lovin' It' campaign and I thought I'd change it and maybe try a new logo. Don't be lazy when you design or have an idea. I hope this didn't come around as being too harsh.

#2 To the person who typed this:

"unfortunately im proffessor worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years. bar what is stated above, i am yet to work out what they actually do? let me know if you do but they are a poor mans advertising as far as i can see."

First of all, I'm still trying to figure out what "unfortunately im proffessor means", I hope it's my professor, to which if he worked with marketing people for 5 long strained years then either get new marketing people or he needs to know how to work with them better. If you think that marketing people are a poor man's advertiser, then you have no clue. I only say that because marketing and advertising work hand in hand. You can have the greatest ad campaign out there but if you have no idea who your target audience is or when the most appropriate time to place an ad is, then your campaign will fail. To put it into simple terms, would you expect a Christmas campaign for a Christmas cd to do well in May? No, because it's the wrong time of the year to sell that. Marketing is road map of advertising. Without marketing you're advertising in a shotgun style just throwing ideas out there and hoping to get the people you want. It's marketing who does the research and knows these people and actually can tell you things like what they like to drink, where they eat out, if they watch tv and when, what their favorite shows are, their age range, what kind of car they drive, their ethnicity, and with that you can possibly even have someone draw up the person that you are targeting, and having that information will give an ad campaign a higher chance of succeeding. They key thing is, you have to work hand in hand with marketing and if you don't understand what they're telling or you don't listen to them, then you're going to have problems, and that is probably your professor's problem. Don't get the attitude that you're better than marketing or you too will have problems with them, work with them and you'll be better off in the end.

1. the reference to the proffessor is in response to a previous post.

2. i hope your example of a christmas campaign not selling in may is a joke?

it just furthers my opinion that a layer of people have inserted themselves into

a position where they repackaged common sense and given it a pstmodern super cool

twist and called themselves 'the marketing department'.

now, although my first paragraph is very sweeping and general (and slightly ironic i hope you noted)

i do understand and am famliar with the principles of marketing (thanks for the idiots guide though).

what you have suggested as invaluable marketing information in the above is exactly the simplistic

banal obvious rules of thumb that develope into more narrow minded conservative ideas on branding

and indeed design that they proffess will beter sell a product.

im not going to argue that there are not people in this position who often benefit the process, and indeed

i have worked with some over the years. they are not a good cross section of the vast majority of

marketers found throughout my industry. people with no design sensibilities who rise to creative positions

are to found at every corner. this is not my assertion based on some preceeding superior comlplex i have

over non designers interferring with my work as you suggest, but because i run into these c**ts every day.

[andrewharrington]

Forget the apostrophe. McDonald's is known world wide as McDonalds, apostrophe or not, you won't confuse it with anything else. It brings more unification the brand.

The brand is McDonald's, specifically McDonald's Corporation. With the apostrophe. I have a cup in front of me right now that proves it. If you are really set on doing a professional rebranding, it helps to spell the company's name correctly. You wouldn't call it "Arbys" or "Wendys", would you?

I think this is a case of you trying to justify your laziness or lack of attention to detail.

I see your point and I agree Ian is getting a little sloppy and lazy at times but look what happened to Tim Hortons:

As Tim?s expanded into Quebec, they were faced with a problem. Quebec has language laws that require all signs to be translated into French. Since ?Tim Horton?s? was considered an English phrase (meaning, something that belonged to Tim Horton), all of the stores in Quebec would have had to have their signs renamed accordingly in French (?Les donuts de Tim Horton? would be the proper translation, meaning ?Tim Horton?s Donuts?).

The folks at Tim?s found a loophole around the language law, though. If a business is just a personal name, even if the name is not French, it doesn?t need to be translated into French. Instead of changing all the signs, they simply renamed the chain ?Tim Hortons?, without the apostrophe, and used that name for all their stores to simplify things.

Maybe it's better to go without the apostrophe for this type of reason. I have much more beef with the lack of attention given to visual aspects of this presentation than the lack of an apostrophe, though I certainly am a grammar nazi. (Side Note: I looked up some Quebec McDonald's, and they have apostrophes, which would seem to contradict the law that Tim Hortons ran into.

[jtthasportfreak]

... it needs some oil dripping off the logo...

[oddball]

Maybe the problem here is that the way ad agencies work in England is different than here in the States. Maybe it's the fact that here in the States marketing and creative are two separate entities that should work hand in hand and are seen as such. I'm not sure if you guys over there separate your creative and marketing as separate entities and that could be why you don't understand what marketing does and I don't understand why you don't understand about what they do. Maybe you guys have marketing running around like annoying little brats asking, "Can I do that? Can I do that? Is this good? Huh? Huh? Huh?" If that is true, I'd hate them too. I do pay attention to detail, and I have to admit I may have made mistake in understanding where you came from as far as culture goes. Maybe the apostrophe elsewhere isn't that important, and it can be lost. I think it was a great example in using Tim Horton's. I admit to making a mistake by not knowing that. I think over time we've forgotten that it's McDonald's Hamburgers or Hamburgers that belong to or of McDonald's, and have shortened it to McDonalds which would be a group of McDonalds or even the family of McDonalds. By taking out the apostrophe not only are you losing the logo identity but identity of where the hamburgers come from which is McDonald. The apostrophe says that these hamburgers are made and prepared by us and in our way, whether you like them or not. If you can go into a foreign country and lose the apostrophe and keep the possessiveness of the name, then go for it. I just know that in the English language and I do understand that our version is different than the true version, that the apostrophe means that something is of what is apostrophized. I just know that McDonald's wants people to know that these are our hamburgers, and that if you leave the apostrophe out your going to distance the "ownership" of the hamburgers. It may be minimal, and you may be right. I'm trying to see if from your point of view and not be so set in my ways. That's where I'm coming from right now and I hope I didn't offend you or come across to harsh. I just am very passionate about things done right and maybe I was too passionate about it. I apologize if I came across like a jerk. Apart from the apostrophe, to which I admit I maybe wrong, your work is solid. Maybe I just need to open my eyes to the possibilities and maybe you've seen something that is better and that I hate change.

[andrewharrington]

Just to update my search, I've been digging hardcore and can't find any indication as to why Tim Hortons was denied the apostrophe in Quebec but McDonald's was not.

[Lee.]

Just to update my search, I've been digging hardcore and can't find any indication as to why Tim Hortons was denied the apostrophe in Quebec but McDonald's was not.

Was the McDonald's apostrophe grandfathered, perhaps?

[Neon_Matrix]

The Late Night logo makes me think of a strip club and St. Louis.

I like them though... they are a fresh idea on a classic, over exposed logo.