The story behind the McDonald's logo (2024)

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The story behind the McDonald's logo? ›

The iconic golden arches

The first McDonald's drive-in was opened in 1940 by brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard McDonald in San Bernardino, California. In 1948 the brothers revamped the business, and a newly envisioned McDonald's restaurant was created to produce huge quantities of food at low prices.

What's up with that? It's a nod to Japanese graphic novels (manga) and anime. WcDonald's will be around for about a month. Consumers will see the new versions of the McDonald's logo on some of the restaurant's packaging and on a new sauce.

The logo goes beyond being a mere brand identifier; it symbolizes familiarity and comfort. The arches, resembling a “M” for McDonald's, are also seen as a symbol of the welcoming nature of the brand. Color psychology. The use of red and yellow in the logo is strategic.

Fox News dug into the issue and found out the deviation from the usual McDonald's colors came about as Sedona city officials pushed to have buildings "blend into the natural landscape." A shopping center that was next to the McDonald's when it opened in May 1993 already had teal signage.

The iconic golden arches in the shape of an “m” were inspired by the architectural arches that structured the first McDonald's restaurants. In the logo, the arches were ignored until Ray Kroc bought the business in its entirety in 1961. From this point on, the arches stood strong and resolute like the chain itself.

Critics claimed that a clown mascot targeting children for fast food is unethical. A group of 550 physicians and other health professionals took out newspaper ads in 2011, saying that Ronald McDonald should be retired. Ronald McDonald made fewer appearances since 2016 due to the 2016 clown sightings.

Perhaps it was. When in the 1960s McDonald's gave up on Meston's architectural arches, the company nevertheless listened to the American psychologist Louis Cheskin, who had worked successfully for Ford. In Freudian terms, suggested Cheskin, the McDonald's arches symbolised a mother's nourishing breasts.

Who wants a WcDonald's? The restaurant chain will temporarily change its name to resemble how it appears in anime series, which flip the 'M' for copyright reasons, but the logo remains unmistakable.

MacDonald is a common surname of the members of Clan Donald, a Highland Scottish Clan. The word 'mac' is used to mean 'son' in Gaelic. Thus MacDonald is a patronymic meaning 'son of Donald' . An alternate way to write MacDonald is to write it as Mcdonald. With the Mc replacing the Mac..

What is McDonald's main message? ›

We serve delicious food people feel good about eating, with convenient locations and hours and affordable prices, and by working hard to offer the speed, choice and personalization our customers expect.

The Golden Arches represent our ambition as a business; we always strive for new heights and excellence, both in our performance and how we represent the Brand.

McDonald's is owned by different shareholders, as it's a publicly traded company. According to CNN Business reports, most of this company's owners are institutional investors, who make up 70.14% of the outstanding shares. Individual owners only make up about 0.31%.

Montpelier, Vermont is the only U.S. state capital without a McDonalds.

McDonald's flips its arches to 'W'; here's why. McDonald's has temporarily flipped its famous Golden Arches to look like a "W'' — a move it says it made to recognize International Women's Day. The upside-down logo appeared Thursday on the fast-food giant's website and social media accounts.

In order to preserve the natural beauty of the red rocks in the area and keep the overall aesthetic of the town (because that's something people thought about in the '90s), local officials required that McDonald's change their famous yellow logo to teal," the Atlas Obscura reports.

Maurice McDonald died from heart failure at his home in Palm Springs, California, on December 11, 1971, at the age of 69. Richard McDonald also died from heart failure in a nursing home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 14, 1998, at the age of 89.

The brothers astonishingly agreed to a “handshake” deal whereby they would receive royalties of 1% of the revenues Kroc would make, in perpetuity. Unsurprisingly, this handshake deal was never honoured and the brothers were not able to prove it.

Documentary maker Morgan Spurlock, who famously ate only at McDonald's for a month in Super Size Me, has died. Spurlock died from complications of cancer at the age of 53 in New York, his family confirmed in a statement.

But rather than setting the record straight, “The Founder” plays fast and loose with the facts, leaving an erroneous impression about the mechanics of the deal, as well as about Ray's formidable and largely unsung third wife, Joan.