McGreen

The German outpost of the fast food mega chain, McDonald’s, recently announced that around 100 of its restaurants in Germany will change their well-known red backdrops to a deep green by the end of 2009. McDonald Germany’s VP, Holger Beeck, stated that the move is “out of respect for the environment.” But Germany isn’t the first to go green, France has been leading the European greening since 2006, when it launched the internal L’Eco Journal and its web site now features the logo against said deep green. This move is part of a bigger effort by McDonald’s to actually be green philosophically, more than just aesthetically, as chronicled in the McDonald’s 2009 Global Best of Green report. There are a couple of items for discussion: a) Is literally going green too lame? And b) does it hurt the brand by moving away from the very recognizable red? My take is, on the former, yes it’s kind of lame but at least they picked a nice green and, on the latter, McDonald’s has such a broad palette of brand icons — from the mnemonic Parapapapa sound to the Big Mac to the yellow arches — that substituting red is no big deal… in fact, just look how cool and recognizable it looks against black in the U.S. web site.

Thanks to Yves for first tip.

NatalieB’s comment is:

If they are actually going to commit 100% to this, I think going literally green will stimulate awareness. However, I’m very skeptical as to how much they are going to change. If they go as far as to use local meats instead of disgusting & extremely polluting factory farms then I’ll be a new McD’s customer.

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:03 AM

Robin’s comment is:

They’ve been green in the UK for a couple of years now, although for some reason their site has the M against a dark tan: http://mcdonalds.co.uk/.

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:08 AM

Jzzsun17’s comment is:

The green is nice, the arches still work on any background. But if I’m driving down the road, I’m looking for that mouth-watering RED color with the golden arches. It’s good to be environmentally friendly, but the green will just fade into the scenery.

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:13 AM

Justin’s comment is:

Full disclosure here: I guess I’m what you will probably end up calling an East Anglia Truther, unconvinced of global warming and disturbed with the recent e-mail leaks. I also use the color green as a part of my personal identity.

Do note that the concept behind Darkoogle was to reduce energy costs by subbing color for black. (This concept is lost on LCD monitors, if I’m not mistaken. Their lights are on even when the pixel is off.)

Green is the color of money. Black, on the other hand, is the color of environmentalism on the series of tubes … circa 1997. At this point, you could have practically the same amount of energy output with the words “We’re Eco-Friendly” in red, green, or blue.

Rebranding around green for any existing company seems like a silly idea. Imagine if more well-established identities such as Pepsi, Coke, Ford, Adobe, Microsoft, or the United States Flag (if you can consider it an ident) swapped to a partial or completely green logo. Now try it with fuschia or a deep cyan. It would simply look tacky to change it to something random, so why change something established for supposed environmental reasons?

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:14 AM

Cy’s comment is:

Wait, what?

Maybe I’m misreading this, but isn’t changing the color of their restaurants (presumably using new paint, new decor, new printed collateral, etc) to reflect their new, ‘green’ attitude (reducing carbon footprint, recycling) missing the point by a mile?

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:16 AM

Gertrude’s comment is:

Green is OK, it shows at least a bit of commitment.
The logo is less aggressive like this. I like the green.

Let’s wait for action: I will be more happy the day they eventually start sorting all the trash first. Here in France, sorting your trash is makes a lot of sense, and fast-foods are definitely not complying with this…

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:19 AM

Pennsylvania wrongful death lawyer’s comment is:

It’s come across as a little lame to me, as it seems more like a publicity, trying to bring attention not to the issue of sustainability, and conservation but to set McDonalds in a light more favorable than their competitors.

The background change I’m fine with, the golden arches is the staple, the color definitely recognizable but not the important half.

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:19 AM

Kevin Tucker’s comment is:

I can’t help but think it has more to do with their McCafe line trying to compete with Starbucks than it does with any environmental/sustainability concerns, though that’s a nice PR spin they can put on it. Like Cy said… isn’t the process of all the change potentially damaging, and thus not “green”? If it’s a visual signal of a complete change in philosophy, and intended as a constant reminder of a new focus on environmental sustainability - so much so that it’s integral to the brand - then it’s a great idea.

But if they don’t follow through, it would serve as a powerful reminder that a brand is more about a logo and a color pallette - it’s about the reputation of the entity which those visual cues represent. It would make a joke of McDonald’s, and the whole idea of “green” in general. If they screw this up, this could actually be the beginning of the end of people taking the color metaphor seriously.

On Dec.01.2009 at 10:56 AM

Cory ’s comment is:

Transparent attempt to try and cash in on the green trend. If this were subsequently accompanied by hard data showing a decreasing carbon footprint (or the effort and dedication of funds to do so), or some other corresponding humanitarian effort, then it might be a positive change.

On Dec.01.2009 at 11:02 AM

Ben Peck | Freelance Designer’s comment is:

All I can say is that the french website looks so much cooler than the US site.

On Dec.01.2009 at 11:14 AM

tobias b köhler’s comment is:

A green background is no better for the environment than a red one. (Well perhaps it won’t have to be repainted so often because red pigments are more likely to fade in UV light ….?)

McDonald’s has been using different colours since long, where they were forced to do so (such as in old towns). Example, the restaurant in Freiburg im Breisgau, at the Martinstor, which doesn’t even seem to show the “arches” logo on the outside:

On Dec.01.2009 at 11:47 AM

tobias b köhler’s comment is:

By the way … it would help more if they started offering organic food and started serving their meals in reusable dishes upon request (to all those who want to eat inside the restaurant and not take away their burgers with them). Right now you still produce a horrible amount of garbage when eating there (even if it’s recycled). Just changing a colour is very superficial, an image change should run much deeper.

On Dec.01.2009 at 11:54 AM

Matei Tudor’s comment is:

I think we had it in Romania for more than a year now. Anyway, doctor and girlfriend says: stay away from fast-food. And so I did.

On Dec.01.2009 at 12:10 PM

Jennifer Moline, PsPrint’s comment is:

Did McDonald’s recently have an eco conference or something? Because I just read that some New Zealand McDonald’s are now using free-range eggs.

http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/mcdonald039s-picks-free-range-eggs-its-breakfast-menu/5/31927

On Dec.01.2009 at 12:22 PM

ScottyM’s comment is:

Hello, McDonald’s? It’s 1986 calling. And we want our green back.

Sheesh, what next? Talk about greenwashing.

Color me unconvinced. And absolutely AMAZED at the lack of brand stewardships across the continents.

And that green building in France is flat out ugly. Ugly in a Pizza Hut architecture kind of way … without the brand cache of Pizza Hut.

Kind of an ugly as in a Village Inn Pizza. Yikes.

On Dec.01.2009 at 12:46 PM

elisa’s comment is:

If you look at fast food chains many of them use the red/yellow model, I was taught that those colors invoke hunger, I don’t know if that’s fact but McDonalds, Wendy’s, In-N-Out, Carl’s Jr all use the red/yellow scheme, while other places are sure to include red, KFC, Jack in the Box, Pizza Hut. Not sure if I like green, but I can kind of see where Kevin is coming from with his competing with Starbucks comment.

On Dec.01.2009 at 01:26 PM

Joe Price’s comment is:

All I can think when I see Yellow and green is John Deere.

On Dec.01.2009 at 01:55 PM

ChrisJ’s comment is:

I can’t tell you how long I’ve been having this conversation among designers. Going green literally is a lame excuse for “going green”. McDonalds is trying to jump on the bandwagon of “good marketing and PR” and from the way I see it they are about 3 years too late.

From a pure logical standpoint the idea of using red and yellow makes sense. Red indicates urgency (it is fast food - quick turnaround) and yellow evokes happiness (besides all the “happy” chemicals you get from the food itself). Also how much does red standout among a non-urban landscape. Green starts to blend in pretty quickly.

On the other hand John Deere has used this color combination for decades and it works - oh wait - they are an agricultural company. Never mind

I do want to say that from this point on if corporations want to make the effort to go green they need to do it because they want to, not because it’s good PR. The days of good PR from being green is long gone, especially now with public opinion swaying to the “who gives a rats a$$$” side of things.

On Dec.01.2009 at 02:07 PM

Simeon’s comment is:

I always thought that the colour green and food should not be seen together. Or is it just seafood…

On Dec.01.2009 at 02:42 PM

fonzie’s comment is:

This is another tokenistic, mean nothing piece of spin. What are we to take from this? If I paint my house green it’s suddenly eco friendly? All SUVs will now come in green so that they “respect the environment”?

Is this really the social landscape we find ourselves in? God help us.

On Dec.01.2009 at 03:41 PM

Devin Gonzales’s comment is:

This seems very hollow. There are so many better ways to communicate environmental responsibility. How about creating a green identity within the existing brand whenever like Apple does. Or, have a campaign where McDonald’s patrons submit photos of arches made from recycled materials then play up all the things that you’re doing to save the world. The color green does little more besides make your food look disgusting.

On Dec.01.2009 at 04:52 PM

Kerri Augenstein’s comment is:

I find the switch to green an attempt at a solution for a larger issue issue. McDonalds is dying a slow death as much of the world is realizing healthy is better… local + organic preferred. Fast food has been suffering for years and much like many other industries (oil) they may have no future unless they completely revitalize their offering. However, like oil, they may have no hope transforming their offering as “fast food” is dictated by preservatives, fat, easily stored and kept, essentially unhealthy food. In other words, fast food + it’s model can’t possibly sustain itself with healthy, perishable, seasonally grown produce, grains, and meats.

They’ve gone to green for a lot of reasons. By dropping red, they’re also trying to drop the unhealthy association. McDonalds, you may be a bit short of that goal.

On Dec.01.2009 at 05:18 PM

Glenn Sakamoto’s comment is:

McLame.

On Dec.01.2009 at 05:34 PM

Joe Price’s comment is:

Glenn wins.

On Dec.01.2009 at 05:58 PM

valt1’s comment is:

In France a Background was green officialy since 2006 year, but we see it more all since a year.

On Dec.01.2009 at 06:00 PM

Chris Rugen’s comment is:

The arches survive a lot of visual manipulation (see Sedona Arizona, with the only known instance of teal arches).

This is a stunt. Maybe it represents a cultural shift, but I suspect it’ll pass like any brand tweak McDonald’s goes through, which is usually tied to some larger marketing push. I believe it’s successful because they have little to lose from the color shift and much to gain from the coverage.

On Dec.01.2009 at 06:05 PM

John’s comment is:

Changing an iconic brand color “out of respect for the environment” is one of the most laughably ridiculous things I’ve ever heard of.

Fail.

On Dec.01.2009 at 06:33 PM

mike B’s comment is:

geez I hate Maccas. I hate that whatever color they use, it’s still gonna work. I hate that they think by using ‘green’ as a corporate color, that somehow makes them ‘good’, ‘nice’… our ‘friend’. I hate that it will work on people. I hate how good their mcCafe website is. I love
to hate Maccas, whatever color they are this week.

On Dec.01.2009 at 06:42 PM

bapt’s comment is:

I don’t like the way big brands go green like you change your shop window because of Halloween or because of the new fashion season.

By the way I was pleased seeing that McDonalds reuses its frying oil and green-builds new restaurants (wooden framed with efficient thermal insulation and so on). More recently I saw displayed on a wall of Place Clichy McDonalds restaurant in Paris, a commitment telling in particular that McDonalds undertake to pick up three times a day all McDonalds wastes strewed on the streets, within a 150 meters radius around the restaurant.

Of course it’s nothing regarding this huge issue of meat production environmental cost. Nevertheless this commitment is not a happy task for the employee who is in charge of (meaning they could choose something easier to do) and it brings a lot to the living environment (in my opinion).

By the way, I’ll finish telling the author i’m fond of this excellent blog and especially fond of the sharp design analyses of the logos.
(please excuse me for the mistakes. You guess it, i’m french!)

On Dec.01.2009 at 06:46 PM

Clinton’s comment is:

Is it me, or is McDonald’s US website really dated and kinda lame. I kinda remember it looking the same way since the early part of the decade. The menu is in pdf format, as well, which seems to be less-than-user friendly.

On Dec.01.2009 at 08:01 PM

gus’s comment is:

HOW YUMMY

A

GREEN!!!

BURGER??? xD

On Dec.01.2009 at 09:50 PM

Austin’s comment is:

Now if they could only ACTUALLY go green by no longer serving meat, as farmed animals are the leading cause of greenhouse gasses

On Dec.02.2009 at 12:07 AM

Quinn ’s comment is:

I’m sorry, Mcdonald’s Green? Thats the biggest corporate joke i’ve ever heard! Try walking into any McDonalds and check out how much packaging gets thrown away - straight to the trash, no recycling - every 15 MINUTES. Not to mention that everyone orders “to go” which doubles the waste. Get with the picture McDonalds and start composting already!…. or does the food they serve even compost?

On Dec.02.2009 at 01:08 AM

Gertrude’s comment is:

Haha Bapt, we have to do something against this horrible trend french people follow, going for an apology each time they write or speak english :) Your english is really good, and since no one can hear our bad french accent when we write, that’s even better :D

On Dec.02.2009 at 02:46 AM

Johs’s comment is:

Exactly, Joe Price! All I see is John Deere too - that green is very John Deere green. My favorite color when I was a kid… hehe

On Dec.02.2009 at 07:10 AM

Harrisburg personal injury attorney’s comment is:

IF they call it the Golden Arches I’m pretty sure that the backround matters less. Even though I’ll be sad to see some without the stand by red, it’s not going to hurt the identity.

On Dec.02.2009 at 10:42 AM

Nathan McKinney’s comment is:

I just found it funny that the announcement said they “replacing the old signs with new ones.” What are they doing with the old ones? Recycling them I hope.

On Dec.02.2009 at 12:44 PM

Dave’s comment is:

This is so retarded! Global warming is the biggest lie ever. I’m all for recycling and not producing too much waste but to assume that we are causing climate change is a bit far fetched. McD’s chose a perfect time to jump onto the green bandwagon just as the leading scientists behind global warming are being exposed for falsifying data. Also, Al Gore’s movie is riddled with inacuracies and false information. I think it’s a piss poor effort by any company to “go green” by either changing their color,going organic or asking their employees to use 1 ply.

On Dec.02.2009 at 03:10 PM

Lorenzo Morales’s comment is:

A little green ain’t gonna hurt them. Nice green too!

Yes, they have catchy jingles/tunes. I still remember the slogan from way back in the late 70’s!
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun!
That was for the Big Mac.

On Dec.02.2009 at 03:43 PM

r4 dsi’s comment is:

Hey thats great to know that the biggest chain of Fastfood mega Mcdonalds is taking the initiative towards a greener future. I wonder what would be the publicity idea behind this major change. Anyways good to see it happen by 2009 end.

On Dec.03.2009 at 12:30 AM

Daho’s comment is:

What a corporate farce! McDonalds green??? Shows you can market yourselves as anything, and this type of b.s. doesn’t reflect well with the marketing and branding community.

Again, McDonalds is green?? Really? How much trash and unhealthy food do they produce every year? This is like trying to package Sarah Palin as a presidential candidate and saying she’s qualified. My head is spinning.

On Dec.03.2009 at 11:58 AM

Mark’s comment is:

It should be interesting to see…

Let’s see if they stick to being green, or just do it for promotion purposes.

On Dec.03.2009 at 04:21 PM

Clinton’s comment is:

Lipstick, gorilla, etc.

On Dec.03.2009 at 05:37 PM

John’s comment is:

I think it’s a good idea, but it’s just PR if they’re not actually doing anything to help the environment.

It’s not a big deal. It will make a change to seeing red everywhere at McDonald’s. It’ll take several decades before McDonald’s U.S. does this, if ever. They’re still using the 1990’s white paper bags and cardboard boxes at McDonald’s U.S. locations.

On Dec.13.2009 at 02:48 PM

PJ Chmiel’s comment is:

A pathetic joke. I agree with Austin and several other posters that what they’re serving means they have no chance whatsoever of even approaching “green.” The animals raised and slaughtered for their type of nutritionally-worthless food produce more greenhouse gasses than all of the vehicles on the road worldwide and 130x as much sewage as the human population here in the US, not to mention the destruction of thousands of acres of rainforest each day for grazing and feed crops, loss of topsoil and wasted water on the megafarm monocultures of chemical-laden GMO corn and soy (for animal feed, corn syrup and frying oil), and more.

They could start by taking lessons from McDonalds India, where over half the menu is vegetarian (a big improvement, but still plagued by most of the issues mentioned above, and still fairly unhealthy food).

On Dec.30.2009 at 11:23 PM