You may remember that back in May we flagged up that McDonald’s was highlighting a big issue with the creation of their world’s smallest McDonald’s – called “McHive” – by NORD DDB in Sweden. Continuing along this thread, the company has recently unveiled a further move with the initiative, involving building habitats – beehive hotels – for wild bees using outdoor advertising spaces.
Without pollination from bees, a third of the food we consume would be threatened. It’s also estimated that 30% of Sweden’s wild bees are being threatened which has pushed the company to extend their initiative to aid wild bees and create places for them to rest. Some of McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden have therefore replaced their regular billboard advertising with signs that also double as bee hotels. These permanent wood installations – which showcase drilled holes in the copy – create safe places for wild bees and other insects to rest and make themselves comfortable. The billboards are available to all McDonald franchisees, who also have the opportunity to customise their messaging.
As well as this, the brand has kickstarted a collaboration with JCDecaux which involves the creation of tiny habitats for wild bees on the back of the billboards, a space that is not currently taken advantage of. This method is being tested in Järfälla outside Stockholm where six beautifully crafted large bee hotels have been carefully mounted on the back of a north-facing advertising board (bees are most comfortable when their nests are in a south-facing position) and if proved successful, there are hopes of scaling up this initiative in Spring 2020.
“The survival of bees is an important issue for society as a whole. That we can use our signs for a good cause feels great. The initiative, which has sprung from our franchisees’ personal commitment to the issue, has been made possible in collaboration with JCDecaux and we are proud and excited to welcome our flying guests soon as they move into our bee hotels,” says Henrik Nerell, Environmental Manager at McDonald’s in Sweden.
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