McDonald’s are celebrating International Women’s Day today with a major stunt.
The fast food chain have turned their iconic Golden Arches upside down so that they read “W” for women.
They have rolled out the altered logo across their social media, and 100 locations in the US feature special “packaging, crew shirts and hats and bag stuffers”.
One branch in California even went so far as to flip the arches on their outdoor signs in advance of today’s celebration.
McDonald’s spokeswoman Lauren Altmin discussed the move, telling CNBC: “We have a long history of supporting women in the workplace, giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed.
“In the U.S. we take pride in our diversity and we are proud to share that today, six out of 10 restaurant managers are women.”
However, the stunt has been with met with a mixed response on Twitter.
Some accused McDonald’s of cynicism, and one Twitter user said: “‘McDonalds is flipping their arches upside down to support women’. I bet all the money you’d spend on doing that being used for women’s charities or scholarships would be a better one.”
Another said: “How much money is McDonalds going to spend flipping their Ws upside down and then back normal again that they could have otherwise just given to charity and made a much larger impact?”
But some praised the chain, and one woman said: “I haven’t eaten at McDonalds in almost 20yrs, because they are honouring women, I will eat there today.#internationalwomensday2018”.
And one said: “Not seeing any issue with McDonalds doing this to draw attention to Woman’s Day. I think it’s very clever! #MAGA”.
McDonald’s hit the headlines recently after making a big change to their iconic Big Mac.
To celebrate the burger’s two year history, the chain created two new versions of the iconic meal.
The first is the Grand Big Mac, which is the same burger in a larger size.
The second is the Mac Jr. – a smaller version of the Big Mac made with one less beef patty.
The burgers, which launched across the UK on February 7, will be available until March 20.
