McDonald's ID pays tribute to women in frontline for Kartini Day

McDonald's Indonesia has published an Instagram post to pay tribute to women on Kartini Day. In Indonesia, Kartini Day is widely celebrated and Kartini is seen as a hero who pioneered education for girls and women’s empowerment. Every year on 21 April, Indonesians come together to recognise her contribution and it has since become an important day for all women in Indonesia.

This year, McDonald's decided to combine Kartini Day celebrations with the significant contribution by frontline workers who are also women. In an Instagram post, McDonald's said: "Happy Kartini Day for Indonesian women! Like the phrase 'After dark comes light', may all the struggles you do make you happier."

In a statement to Marketing Interactive, a McDonald's spokesperson said the creative idea was to personify these women in various roles and the ice cream cones to speak for themselves. According to McDonald's, the ice cream cones were dressed up to represent the different occupations and roles women play in the country. The social post and creative execution was done by Publicis Indonesia. In addition, the McDonald's spokesperson said the social post was aligned with the brand's objective and aimed at delivering “Feel Good” moments to all. Currently, McDonald’s Indonesia is also actively involved in doing its part with initiatives to support efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. 

Michael Hartono, director of marketing, McDonald’s Indonesia said celebrating Kartini Day is important for the brand as Indonesia’s diversity is seen through celebrating days such as this where everyone pays tribute to women who fought to champion women’s empowerment. "While this may not a part of a bigger campaign, that in no way reduces the importance of what it stands for. Because we believe that for the thousands of employees at McDonald’s and the millions of Indonesian women, Kartini Day is a reminder as well as a celebration of their commitment and contribution to the nation,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Ali Shabaz, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe Indonesia said the inspiration for this post came from the realisation that while working from home is tough for the team, it must be so much harder for the people on the frontline. "Working remote is tough, but with all the means of communication available, strangely, our teams are actually more connected than before. So many of them are women who are doing a wonderful job of keeping things going. This was our way of saying thank you," he added. 

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