McDonald's Celebrates The 'Golden M' Hairdo

In Sweden, McDonald’s tapped into nostalgia to bring back the Golden M hairdo, a 90’s look that resembles the chain Golden Arches logo.

From December 5-6, McDonald’s Sweden operated the M Barber Shop, where consumers could get a free virtual appointment with a stylist to learn to do the Golden M hairdo at home.

The virtual appointments were made with influencer hairstylist Adam Lukacs who was working from a real Barber Shop storefront in the center of Stockholm. All appointments were sold out within 2 hours, according to a Fox News report.

The Golden M activation playfully tapped into a renewed interest for the iconic 90s hairdo, popularized by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and David Beckham, and brought back to attention by K-pop stars BTS.

On top of the (real) Barber Shop and virtual appointments, McDonald’s also launched the Golden M Detector, a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to reward customers with a Big Mac if it detects Golden M haircuts in selfies.

“When we realized that people were wearing our Golden Arches, we had to act,” Staffan Ekstam, the marketing director at McDonald’s Sweden, told Fox News. “We started the M Barber Shop not only to guard our Golden M, but also to claim it once and for all. The salon is a celebration dedicated to our beloved ambassadors — a helping hand to guide them on how to keep their M’s in perfect trim, even when we can’t move around as freely as we usually can.”

And don’t worry if you missed out on an appointment, a video tutorial was created to extend the campaign’s reach and encourage more people to proudly wear the Golden Arches.