According to the Official International Womens Day website, March 8th “is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.” If you drove past the McDonald’s in Lynwood, CA, in 2018, you might have thought you were getting punked.

If you woke up the next morning and scrolled through your Facebook feed, you might have noticed what appeared to be a glitch in the Matrix. Or further evidence that you were in an episode of Black Mirror brought to life. None of those theories were true. You could have taken off the tin-foil hat at the time.

Image Credit: Rodolfo figueroa / Twitter
Your eyes were not deceiving you: McDonald’s iconic arches logo had been flipped upside down. It looked like a big, bubbly “W” at the time and had nothing to do with their ongoing Twitter feud with Wendy’s. The logo had been flipped in “celebration of women everywhere.” A McDonald’s representative had said.

People could have already witnessed the flip on the sign at the Lynwood, CA store, but on Thursday, March 8 — AKA International Women’s Day — Mickey D’s had displayed its arches upside down across its social media accounts. Employees donned the “W“-esque logo on their shirts and hats. There had been special packaging featuring the logo at 100 stores nationwide as well.

McDonald’s spokesperson, Wendy Lewis offered some insight
“For the first time in our brand history, we flipped our iconic arches for International Women’s Day in honor of the extraordinary accomplishments of women everywhere and especially in our restaurants.” McDonald’s Chief Diversity Officer Wendy Lewis said.

McDonald’s spokesperson Lauren Altmin said that the logo change was in celebration of women everywhere. “We have a long history of supporting women in the workplace, giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed.” Says Altmin. “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. The logo will be changed on all of the company’s social media channels and 100 restaurants will have special “packaging, crew shirts and hats and bag stuffers.”

Other brands had taken on similar initiatives to acknowledge women, such as Johnnie Walker releasing a ‘Jane Walker’ bottle. Donating $1 per bottle towards charities benefiting women. “Important conversations about gender continue to be at the forefront of culture. And we strongly believe there is no better time than now to introduce our Jane Walker icon and contribute to pioneering organizations that share our mission.” Said Stephanie Jacoby, vice president of Johnnie Walker. “We are proud to toast the many achievements of women and everyone on the journey towards progress in gender equality.”

Brawny had launched a ‘Strength Knows No Gender’ campaign. Replacing the Brawny Man with women and donating $100,000 to Girls, Inc. A nonprofit that helped young women learn leadership and financial skills. McDonald’s had not announced plans to make a donation as part of this initiative.