McDonald's 2017 Black History Month

The Client's Ask

Develop communication that acknowledges Black History Month.

Deliverables:

• Vestibule Poster
• Tray liner
• Bag Stuffer

What We Need To Know

Black people love themselves and love their contributions to society and deserve to be acknowledged for their greatness not just in the month of Feburary, but every damn day.

Unfortunately a lot  brands do not communicate to this community in an appropriate and authentic way, often creating communication that is mundane, routine, and stereotypical. Black people are aware of all the mishaps and poor representation brands have done over the years. When it comes to brands recognizing Black History Month black people are looking to see if this is something this brand really cares about or if this is just a box they are checking off their list.

Black History Month is worth a brand celebrating, but it is often overly simplified and acknowledged mediocrely, so it is imperative we put our best foot forward as creatives even if our client shoots down great work, if not for the black masses, but for the black strategist who is standing with you creating this work.

Culture Fuel

We need to embody what we say. You can't just sit here and say we proudly celebrate Black History Month, but aren't doing anything that encrypted that shows you mean it. Black people are not just simply wanting a nod in February. We want to see brands and initiatives that celebrate us 365 days a year, that also takes the time and resources to support their community.  Leaning in with black people and the discrepancies in voter ID laws Ben and Jerry created Empower Mint  flavor icecream and donated a portion of their sales to an NAACP chapter. Netflix and Twitter executive have all donated to the Black Life Matters organization. The Jordan brand for the first time has openly cried out in support of black life and has donated as well. Black people are looking for brands that are authentically acknowledging them and celebrating them.

It just can't be "Happy Black History Month from us."

Insight

Black History wasn't made in 28 days, so it shouldn't be celebrated for just 28 days.

Exploring the insight further...

Black people are making history every day. Black History didn't begin and end during the civil rights movement. We are creating history day in and day out. The history created by black people isn't a 28 day process. Black History is an unfinished collection of time docummenting overcoming barrier after barrier and still finding a way to be innovative, groundbreaking, and trendsetting. Black history is a beautiful struggle.

Brands should acknowledge that beautiful struggle and always find a way to be of service daily in limiting the struggle and helping black history just be beautiful. 

Strategy

McDonald's is committed to investing in the black community, making history not just a thing of the past, but of the future.

 Exploring the strategy further...

McDonald's has created 365 Black, donated to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, they have the Ronald McDonald House Charity African American Achievers program. How do we

We want all of our consumers, not just black people to walk away feeling like McDonald's is authentically celebrating Black History Month because recognizing the black community is a corner stone to who we are and not just what we do during February.