Trend Mill
Why McDonald’s Failed to One-Up Burger King’s Redesign
The fast-food giant’s revamped packaging shows it’s still too timid to fully adapt to the times
This is shaping up to be the year of the fast-food rebrand. First, Burger King unveiled a sharply executed redesign on January 7, announcing a total revamp across the entire brand, from its logo and packaging design to an updated digital and social media presence. It was an immediate smash hit, nodding back to the company’s classic 1969 logo while signaling the brand’s transition into a more digital-friendly brand. Less than a month later, on February 16, Burger King’s archrival McDonald’s followed suit and revealed a fresh new take on its product packaging. Much like its rival’s rebrand, which was a bold, retro, and colorful take on flat design, McDonald’s new packaging is… a bold, retro, and colorful take on flat design.
This isn’t mere coincidence or copycatism: Flat design is a trendy visual style that’s been adopted by brands like Apple, Instagram, and Netflix over the past decade. It embraces two-dimension illustrations, bright colors, and simplicity to limit the noise created by too many visual details. Gone are the bevels, shadows, or textures, replaced by simple vector-style graphics and reduced reliance on typography…
