Comments

Officers of the armed forces around the world do that, even after they are retired. It depends on the value you convey, and a uniform can convey love, honor, courage, daring, politeness, dedication....

These days, aren't we all warriors in the global arena, fighting battles for...the whole of humankind?

Jay, from Bangalore

Posted by Jayakumar Hariharan at August 3, 2005 1:43 AM

Why do I feel nervous about this?!?

I do hope that McD employees will really feel they have a choice about whether to wear the clothes or not. Now that the company has gone public you can just imagine some corporate type getting worked up because it is not working then sending out a group memo reminding all employees about how hip the clothes are. Then some over officious first line manager insisting. Then the restaurant of the month criteria suddenly including the wearing of this stuff.

What is hip lasts about 2 nano seconds in the fashion business - so I assume that McD will be updating their look for every season.......

Hey this post reads cynical even by my standards!!

To be honest I bet the original idea was totally genuine. The problem is that it is the wrong way round. The managers should wait to see if their clothes became hip THEN make a big fuss about it.

Posted by PaulH at August 3, 2005 2:06 AM

This isn't about clothes, it's about brand. It's always about brand!

I guess what McD's wants to engineer is a fashion phenomenon. It could work, but the best fashion cults are not contrived by boardroom execs - they typically come from radicals, mavericks, individuals (Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong wrist band, for example).

McD's needs some very bright, creative individuals (probably from their target market and probably contemptuous of big business) to position the brand in a way that it resonates with the wearer’s core values. Witness the hugely successful French Connection FCUK campaign. It's all about attitude.

The problem McD's has is that it tries to appeal to everyone at every level.

When McD's eventually fades and dies, business schools around the world will conclude that the company lacked focus. Burger King, on the other hand, will still be going strong - impervious to fashion and fad because it does now what it has always done, catering for the hard-core burger lover, rather than pandering to the healthy eating lobby.

Posted by Matt at August 3, 2005 4:03 AM

Great point PaulH about the need for a "new line" every year! Somehow, I don't think they are going to be that fashion conscious though....

We all wear uniforms of one kind or another. I often wonder about the requirement for a suit in business environments. Although times are slowly changing, the corporate uniform includes a tie, uncomfortable shoes, a jacket, pants/skirt, etc. Perceptions of power, intelligence, status, etc. are swayed by our appearance and "fit" into the the "corporate line". Oh, he's sooooo last year!

Alan Watts (philosopher) wrote a great piece on human coverings, suggesting that the necktie is a noose...

...but hasn't McDonalds had a clothing line (for retail) for a few years now?

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 3, 2005 4:13 AM

Clothes are so inexpensive - YES - associates, given their minimal salary may very well wear them elsewhere and McDonald's can easily afford to update uniforms often.

Trying to get our office to sponsor Armani and Hickey-Freeman suits - yes I'll wear them elsewhere.

Posted by VacationMan at August 3, 2005 4:29 AM

Clothes are inexpensive Vacationman, but designing trendware isn't. Sure you can buy bulk t-shirts or low-grade polyesters for nothing...especially if you buy them in China! Bbut developing a brand that will stay one step ahead of fadfashion comes at a cost.

Then again, I suppose that if you consider that these "uniforms" will be mobile billboards, the cost will be borne by the advertising budget. Thinking of it in that way, perhaps it doesn't seem so costly at all; and might be a good idea if the wearers don't resist the idea of being puppets for profit.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 3, 2005 5:18 AM

Well, they've got the first impact. Here we are, all of us, talking about them.

Jay is right. If you're proud of being part of the project, you'll wear it. But if you're not... you'll probably hate even Armani!

Posted by PachiL at August 3, 2005 5:21 AM

I do hate Armani..... Bespoke is the only way to go for expensive suits

Posted by PaulH at August 3, 2005 5:48 AM

McDonalds will see their designer uniforms outside of the office, mostly torn and dirty doing chores that would otherwise soil a persons everday clothing.

Posted by Bruce D. at August 3, 2005 6:14 AM

Encouraging employees to wear their uniforms outside the workplace? Maybe at McD's, but we in healthcare have been fighting a losing battle the other way. Too many employees have been wearing scrubs and other uniforms away from the workplace or even in the workplace when they aren't needed. Maybe if McD's stenciled 'Property of McD's - Not to be worn outside the building' on the front and back the employees would wear them everywhere.
What message does it send if you see a kid wearing a McD's uniform mowing a lawn and later that day you buy a Happy Meal ™ from the same kid? Did they shower and put on a clean uniform? Is that really seasonal field greens or lawn clippings in the salad?

Posted by MikeC at August 3, 2005 7:09 AM

This seems to me rather ill though through. Are they trying to launch a fashion brand or are they trying to make their employees feel proud of working for McDonalds? (Or maybe both?)

I think we can all see the risks with this idea, from abuse to a staffer somewhere simply being perceived as wearing it in an inappropriate setting. But if one of the objectives is to cultivate pride, it can only be one of a number of measures they ought to be taking. On it's own, this strikes me as barely even skin deep and destined to end in tears.

And reading the link I have to ask why, for Pete's sake, do they keep banging on about trying to, "...capture that spirit of being forever young." Gimme a break, please!

I think there's some mileage in the idea but at the moment it smacks a bit of desperation.

Posted by Mark JF at August 3, 2005 7:17 AM

PaulH, good concerns. I think, though, that the folks at McDonald's were referring to designing uniforms that employees would WANT to wear in public. Think Timberland, Nike, etc. Think vintage store. Think, so cool I have to wear it.

Interesting how one word can change the entire tone of the message.

Will this happen? If I really knew, I certainly wouldn't be writing about it here. I would be telling McDonald's!

Posted by d.k. at August 3, 2005 7:20 AM

Wear the uniform outside of work? Isn't it bad enough they have to wear the perpetually greasy clothes during work without having everyone in the bank line, store, or theatre scowling at them for stinking up the place? Not to mention having to fight off all the dogs and cats that want to follow you home. (When I worked in food service ages ago the work clothes didn't even go into my house and I always went home and changed before going anywhere else.)

OK, in brief--this is one of the top ten stupidest ideas of all time.

Posted by Mike at August 3, 2005 7:56 AM

Is it possible McDonald's employees will wear their uniforms OUTSIDE of the store? Doubtful, but maybe.

A less expensive and potentially more effective way to get McD's employees to wear a 'uniform' outside of their store is to given them a cool, branded t-shirt.

When I was managing marketing programs at Starbucks, we would always try to budget in giving store partners a free, promotional t-shirt to wear at work and away from work. Starbucks store partners would wear their t-shirt away from work. Some took great pride in doing so. However, I never saw a Starbucks partner wear their green apron away from work. Hmm...

McDonald's can more easily solve for getting their employees to wear 'uniforms' outside of work by giving them a cool t-shirt.

Posted by johnmoore (from Brand Autopsy) at August 3, 2005 8:38 AM

I agree dk and johnmoore...

Starbucks is cool
Nike is cool
Timberland is cool
...even Wall Drug is cool in an uncool way

...but, sadly for them and the potential wearers of the "uniforms"...McDs ISN'T cool. Hopefully, for the sake of their employees, they'll change the "I'm Lovin' It" slogan before printing the T-shirts!

....maybe if they gave summer shorts with the slogan "Super Sized" along the front of them...or a tee-shirt with "super sized" and an arrow pointing down it might be cute and funny. Or a spaghetti top for the ladies with "Two all beef patties" across the front....

...otherwise, they're not and never will be cool!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 3, 2005 9:45 AM

If McDon's can get their folks to wear uniform outside their work env, then its a branding strategy. Will it work ?? Yes, if the employees buy-in !! Nothing wrong in stating via fashion who you work for !! Its a personal thing to wear a nike or addidas shoes and/or polo t-shirt correct ?? So what happens if Mcdon's gets their employees to wear outside the work place ? It would be quite an initative, an interesting paradigm will be born.

SteveY : "Brand Harmaony gets no days off" - pg 144 :)- (yeah, you know which book !! )

Posted by /pd at August 3, 2005 10:55 AM

D.K.

I realise that the intention was to create stuff the employees would want to wear - I guess I am just cynical that further down the chain that message might get lost.....

Posted by PaulH at August 3, 2005 10:55 AM

We love the lovin it campaign McDonalds is touting to the outside world. Bypass the head and go straight to the heart. Smart. But, will being bullish about branding the apparel help the troops feel the love on the inside, in order to make it come alive for the customer? We say YES, with a caveat. Donning the brand in hot, new threads is a chic way to assist the troops in marketing the mission, as long as the agenda is supported by a full-scale, internal, edgy, sustained campaign that parallels the personal flavor of the youth culture. From life-style gear to gearing up for a day behind the grill, McDonalds has to be maniacal about compelling messaging that emancipates its players for carrying the company flag.
Recognizing and appealing to a companys street-life is real and real touches employees from the inside out, moving them from general understanding to coherence and action.
If delivering on the brand promise means turning street trendsetters into behind-the-counter brand setters, McDonalds may succeed in developing a culture that recognizes employees as the walking, talking, technicolor interpretation of the brand.

Posted by It's An Agency Thing at August 3, 2005 11:13 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! WOOO-HAHAHAHAHAHAAA! YAAA, HAA HAA HAA HAAA HAAAAA! OOOOOOOOH NO, THAT'S A GOOD ONE! AAAAAAAAAAAAH HAA HAA HAAAAAA!

um, pardon me for that outburst. I finally heard a McD's thing that's a bigger joke than their "hamburgers".

Posted by Ron at August 3, 2005 11:31 AM

McD's needs to think this through. The big gotcha is the potential for a huge hit on the brand when an employee wearing the uniform is arrested as one inevitably will.

Posted by Jeff at August 3, 2005 11:58 AM

I don’t think anyone – at least no one in an entry-level position -- would want to wear his or her work clothes off-hours. Nevertheless, it is refreshing that a massive corporation even thinks of creating “cool” uniforms, rather than using them as a brute force branding platform.

Working for Safeway in the early 80s, I had to wear brown polyester pants, an orange vest, and a brown and orange "S"logo tie when bagging groceries for some of the most popular girls at my high school. I still avoid shopping Safeway due to lingering bitterness ;)

Posted by Jon Gabriel at August 3, 2005 12:12 PM

Of the 16 people on the plane in first class today, 7 were wearing polos or oxfords emplazoned with their company logo. Not quite the official uniform, but not too far from it.

Posted by Jeffrey at August 3, 2005 1:17 PM

r u sure it was theirs?
:)

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"Of the 16 people on the plane in first class today, 7 were wearing polos or oxfords emplazoned with their company logo. Not quite the official uniform, but not too far from it."

As we know, this is the equivelent of the "away game" jersey of the corporate set. I would doubt very much that as one moves up the food chain (no pun intended) at McD's one would find a V.P. wearing the latest "hip" uniform. Rather than trying to cloud core issues with a uniform change, McD's should re commit itself to first class customer service and perhaps realistic healthy alternatives. It is after all McDonalds, not McYogurt and tofo..

Posted by Mike Eubank at August 3, 2005 1:55 PM

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This puzzled me from the beginning. At the exact moment that the largest segment of society is aging, with huge amounts of money to spend on their grandchildren, McDonalds is planning on making their employees look like hip-hop stars. What?

Posted by Steve at August 3, 2005 2:33 PM

Have you folks seen the Song Airlines flight attendant uniforms designed by Kate Spade? So beautiful!

http://slate.msn.com/id/2088054/

A friend of mine works there, and I ran into her in the airport and I couldn't get over how great she looked.

Posted by Halley at August 3, 2005 3:09 PM

As I read this, the first thing that came to mind was the wearing of my Army uniform outside of the post. That was during Vietnam and, believe me, you did not want to do that. In fact, we were instructed not to. I knew several people in Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Colorado that were there because of the general populace's reaction to the Army uniform at the time. Perhaps McDs had better think carefully about the reaction some people have to their hamburgers and to those people's reaction to recognizeing the employees on the street!

As small aside - is anyone else as distressed about McDs insistance on not capitalizing a personal pronoun (i am lovin it)? It is hard enough to teach kids proper english and then this company comes along and makes it alright. I suppose this could also be looked at as branding but, dang, I hate it. Perhaps I'll pick off one of the employees on the street if I can identify them (just kidding).

Posted by Al at August 3, 2005 4:11 PM

McDonalds started the McKids clothing line back in 1987 (sold by Sears), so they're no stranger to the fashion industry...even so, for this venture they'll be bringing in the big name designers (P. Diddy, Hilfiger, Roca, etc.)

They are also launching a line of bicycles and skateboards by the end of this year and in 2006. Talk about an oxymoron....McDonalds Fitness. And yet, that's the perception that they're attempting (and perhaps successfully) selling. "We're cool and interested in good health and nutrition."

Could they be liable for deceptive advertising, being that they're not cool and don't provide nutritious or healthy products?

Al, like you, we were discouraged (or forbidden at times) to wear our uniform off base in the US Air Force, certainly when posted overseas. That said, nobody really wanted to.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 3, 2005 7:34 PM

As DK says, this is about offering clothes employees will WANT to wear out of work - that is, that they won't resent changing into because they feel like dorks. If the teenagers and others working there actually don't mind their uniforms because they are less appalling than before, that can only increase their job satisfaction (or at least eliminate "ugly uniform" as a reason for quitting). And happy, relaxed employees treat customers better.

From reading the linked article, I don't think this was ever about employees being walking billboards and intentionally wearing work clothes in their off-hours because they thought their Mickey D's wear was as cool as their own fashion choices. It looks like a recruitment and retention angle from here, with some marketing as a benefit, not a straight-up marketing tactic.

Posted by Jennifer Warwick at August 3, 2005 10:39 PM

Thanks for the plug, /pd.

Jon's Safeway experience sounds like a great scene from an 80's brat pack movie.

John Moore's Starbucks case is interesting ... employees were willing to wear the logo, in a more understated way. When you think of that with Jeffrey's comment about the logo shirts people on his plane were wearing, you realize that the logo wear is less for advertising to customers than to give employees a sense of belonging. Personally, I'm not looking for that kind of belonging (Yastrow Marketing has no corporate uniform or logo merchandise), but I remember from my Hyatt days that I did wear the stuff. And, on the McDonald's front, my dad spent 20 years there and the closets still have plenty of arches in them 8 years after retrement!

Posted by Steve Yastrow at August 3, 2005 10:56 PM

In a word, NO. I mean, c'mon, how stupid. No other word for it. There's no big discussion to have about this. Line these McIdiots up and stooge-slap them.

Posted by Michael Martine at August 3, 2005 11:54 PM

Hi,

One should DEFINITELY take pride in wearing ones' company uniform (be it a plant worker or a McD waitress) but wearin it outside office (anywhere other than the workplace) is to me like stretchin the dress-code concept way beyond belief!!!

For any dress to be admired, it has to be APPROPRIATE and shld be "dressed to the occassion" & i bet McD (or any company for that matter) cannot invent such an outfit for its employees!!

For the CEO of McD:

If u read this, pls DO note that there r a zillion other ways to innovate, garner enthusiasm, enlighten employees, cheer em all up, have a sense of belonging et al than to jus see them dress up in ur "waitering outfit" which I STRONGLY believe wouldnt deserve an IOTA of APPRECIATION from the community at large!

Posted by K.Sriram (from India) at August 4, 2005 7:50 AM

Ok, I've changed my mind AGAIN! This might be really cool if they don't try to be too serious about the design.

Following the pop art traditions of Andy Warhol, they could have shirts that simply say "McShirt" or a painting of a hamburger or a packet of fries, etc. In its simplicity and obviousness, it could be cool trendy ware. But if they try to be "so this year", then it will be mutten dressed up as lamb! Profitable or not, they'll be in the history books!

Can't wait to see what they come up with!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 4, 2005 3:44 PM