McDonald's
The Literacy
Store
Art Director. Concept and art direction.
The project
1 in 4 children in America grows up without learning how to read. To help tackle childhood illiteracy, McDonald’s replaced the traditional Happy Meal toy with original kids’ books, distributing 20M+ books nationwide over a two-week run.
To bring the issue to life, a McDonald’s restaurant on Chicago’s West Side was transformed into The Literacy Store. We recreated the experience of not being able to read by replacing every familiar word in the restaurant with a nonsensical, unreadable language, flipping the digital menu boards, posters, tray liners, and restroom signage. Even ketchup packets and employee name tags became illegible.
Customers were left wondering what was happening until the digital menu board revealed: “To a child who can’t read, the world can be a confusing place. To spread the joy of reading, we’re including original kids’ books in every Happy Meal.”
