McDonald's wants PDiddy to redesign their uniforms
 

Story

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- McDonald’s is recruiting Russell Simmons, P. Diddy and Tommy Hilfiger to perform a miracle makeover: Turn its employees' mundane uniforms into hip street wear.

As it attempts to change its image from a fat purveyor to phat icon, the
P. Diddy is one of those being considered by McDonald's for a redesign program that aims to turn employee uniforms into hip street wear.

World’s largest youth employer is turning to these style-setters for what could be an $80 million makeover for its army of workers. The idea is to turn employees into walking brand billboards as they circulate among their peers.

Making the uniform 'relevant'
With roughly 30,000 McDonald’s employees that fall within young-adult age bracket, “it’s very important to take [uniforms] from what they have to wear to what they want to wear,” Mr. Stoute said. “It’s a very important aspect of employee pride. McDonald’s has evolved and become a lifestyle brand ... since it now is relevant to our lifestyle, let’s go one step further and make its employees relevant to our lifestyle as well.”

If the idea doesn’t get lost in translation, McDonald’s would end up rotating through a series of contemporary versions of the original Ray Kroc designs that would be changed in rotations. “You’re taking the original inspiration of McDonald’s and having very famous contemporary designers do a twist on it,” said Mr. Stoute. The ultimate test is whether employees would wear the outfits outside of work as a fashion statement. It typically costs $4,000 to $6,000 to outfit a restaurant with uniforms. Restaurants choose from among corporate-approved styles.

Among the top designers the chain is eyeing: Mr. Simmons’ Phat Farm; P. Diddy’s Sean John; American Apparel; American Eagle Outfitters; Abercrombie & Fitch; Fubu; Rocawear; Tommy Hilfiger and others.

They can't be serious about this.

This reminds me of that Dave Chappelle skit. "Calvin's got a job!!"

On an unrelated note, I've never known it to take as long to get a meal from the drive-through from a McDonalds as it does here in Charleston. The wait times are honestly staggering. Almost all of the fast-food joints around here are the same, at least in my section of the city.

I'm gonna make sure my McDrawers are peeping out my pants.

This is like when Taco Bell bought the ad saying they had bought the Liberty Bell, and renamed it that Taco Bell.

Right?

Umm..I'm afraid it's the real thing. This article is....

Hip street wear huh? So dumb.

You never went to Norfolk then. Staggering, and then they fuck up half your order.

I think that is in McDonalds training manual.. Chapter 8 - How to Fuck things up. I once got a Big Mac.. WITHOUT THE MEAT! I mean.. how in the HELL do you forget the 2 hamburger patties??? It's the first ingredient in the damn Big Mac song...

YES.

this will backfire...dramatically. Sell, sell, sell

P. Diddy? I'd listen to a stool that kid produced! You know it would be diamond studded.

Just the opposite. I think this is a brilliant idea that could very well work...

I doubt they sing the big mac song as they assemble the big mac. Though it apparently could help them out, they need songs for all their menu items!!

Doesn't McDonald's already have a line of kids clothes?

*sigh*

Although half the people working at McDonalds are probably too young to remember there even was a Big Mac song, or that everything came in a nice little destroy-the-environment styrofoam containers, or McDLTs...

I think it's great that McDonald's has so much money they will pay celebrities a ton to design new uniforms to put on their minimum wage workers.

^Nice!

The guy who has recently taken over McDonalds is a pretty smart guy. He's turned the company around big time.

if anything this will make trips to mcdonalds very, very entertaining. i think they should teach the employees to break dance as well, so my McRib sandwich can be served to me by a person spinning on their head.

Designing uniforms presumably takes a bit more talent than adding and serving food.

Then again, they are talking with P Diddy. Perhaps he'll start calling himself the Black Hilfiger.

Last time I checked people working at McD's started at $7/hr here in Fargo-Moorhead and I'm sure it's around the same in other places. But it's funny to see most assume different.

Well, the food and service is what generates wealth for McDonald's. Not the uniforms.

As for the $7 thing - that works out to $14,560 a year before taxes. Well under the poverty line if you have any kind of family.

This thread is just begging for someone with some Photoshop skills.

We're going to hear about people getting their Big Macsizzle Apple Pielizzle and their Fodiddle McGriddle at McDiddy's.

And the hope is that the uniforms will generate more customers or, in the best case scenario, become a fad unto themselves and generate cash unrelated to the food and service. Whether it's ultimately worth the price remains to be seen.

Ever since a Wendy's and Sonic opened near my house, both in the last couple of months, the local McDonald's has been sucking ass. The service there was always terrible, ever since shortly after they opened it, and there has been a continuing problem with young men hanging out inside and hitting on the workers. People stopped going there at night except for the drive-thru. Management did nothing about the problem. Additionally, service was absolutely terrible. Apparently they felt being the only fast food restaurant on that side of town made them immune to problems.

So when the Wendy's and Sonic opened, it sucked away a lot of the business from the local McDonald's. I hope they either close the thing or make some major changes, but I have noticed a steady decline in service at all the area McDonald's and Burger Kings. I much prefer going to Wendy's where service remains fast and top notch locally (both the new one and the others in town), or Sonic. Or Subway. And I just like Wendy's burgers better. Or the supersonic double cheeseburger from Sonic.

I know it is hard to get good teenage help at some of these places, but there are a lot of decent teens out there who will work hard and do things right, with the right management.

Some jobs you can't make cool by force of will. Flipping burgers in a fast food restaurant is one of them.

Speaking of the McRib, has anyone sighted the McRib near them? I want one!

I guarantee that no matter how they design this new uniform, if you walk by someone with it on, you're not going to think "hey, that new uniform looks good" -- you're still going to think "man that guy smells."

Not sure of the McRib but, you are welcome to become part of the Krusty Ribwich Nation...

The "Big 33" was the single greatest food product ever served. Unfortunately Larry Bird retired and subsequently the sandwich as well.

I've yearned for this for 15 years now.

Maybe you could petition for a Raef Burger to be introduced locally.