McDonald's Egypt's misspelling in its illiteracy campaign is, in a word, brilliant

Lifestyle

Published: 2017-10-29 10:52

Last Updated: 2024-04-25 20:18


The campaign was executed in a very intelligent way and we are loving it! (McDonald's)
The campaign was executed in a very intelligent way and we are loving it! (McDonald's)

McDonald’s Egypt’s marketing team deserves a standing ovation after succeeding in drawing millions of people’s attention to their latest charitable campaign.

The food giant deliberately misspelled one word in their “#If-it-bothers-you-change-it” campaign, which aims at raising money for the development of Egypt’s education system, in an effort to combat the alarming rise in illiteracy.

In 2016, Egypt’s official statistics agency revealed that more than 14 million Egyptians above the age of 10 couldn’t read or write. Of those, 9.3 million were females and 5.2 million were males.

At first, those who came across the campaign called McDonald’s out for not proofreading their text before printing it on dozens of donation boxes across their restaurants in Egypt.

However, little did they know that this was intentional, hence the hashtag, which invites literate Egyptians to do something about the incorrect spelling (if it bothers them that much), by donating money towards combatting illiteracy.

All proceeds will go to schools and nurseries in the unplanned area of Ezbet Khairallah in Greater Cairo, which McDonald’s plans to improve and renovate as their “long-term plan to enhance our social role in the Egyptian society,” according to their official website.