McDonald's Sorry for 'Supersize Lack in Judgment'

Humps in golden arches practiced social distancing in some parts of world before outcry
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 25, 2020 7:53 AM CDT
McDonald's Says Sorry for 'Supersize Lack in Judgment'
A sign with the well-known golden arches hangs on a McDonalds restaurant on April 17, 2007, in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Several weeks into the coronavirus outbreak, the term "social distancing" is falling off of everyone's lips as easily as "TGIF" (btw, is it Friday yet? Does it even matter anymore?). Now the concept has wormed its way into one of the world's fast-food institutions. Around the same time that McDonald's closed the dine-in areas to its company-owned stores in the US, the chain's Brazil division debuted a more visual component in its campaign to keep the virus at bay, per Today: the fast-food giant's famous golden arches, with its two signature humps now separated and with sanctioned space between them (check it out here). The New York Post reports McDonald's collaborated with Brazilian ad agency DPZ&T to come up with the new look, which was accompanied by a Portuguese phrase that means "separated for a moment so that we can always be together."

Although actual arches and signage weren't altered, the new look made its way onto social media: Fox News reports the chain's Brazil Twitter feed incorporated the new logo into its profile picture and header image, though it's now gone. A video displaying the new logo was also apparently removed from the Brazil division's Instagram page. The Post calls the move a "supersize lack in judgment" that's elicited criticism online and resulted in the restaurant nixing the rebranding. Per Ad Age, some critics are commenting on how McDonald's pays its workers and wondering if the chain is simply vying for a branding award. Mickey Dee's is now offering a mea culpa. "We apologize for any misunderstanding of the intent to remind our customers and communities on the importance of social distancing during these uncertain times," a company rep says. (More coronavirus stories.)

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