2007 UNIVATOR Award Winner - January 2007

Cintas Canada and McDonalds Canada partnered to create a completely new uniform program for more than 77,000 employees in Canada . The goal was to create youthful street fashion that their employees would love to wear; even once they left the restaurant.

Cintas Canada was able to design, manufacture and rollout a uniform program that exceeded McDonalds’ requirements. This new uniform program is much like a personal wardrobe, but incorporates the functionality of a uniform. And it is an excellent example of how a company looks to the uniform design to help guarantee future business success. For these reasons, the ground-breaking McDonalds Canada uniform program is deserving of a UNIVATOR award.

After three months of research and a national five-store piloting, the McDonalds Canada uniform program was created to support the first international ad campaign, i’m lovin’ it™. Based on what’s being sold in retail stores and what is actually being worn out by today’s youth, Cintas designed three sport-themed looks for McDonalds Crew: Baseball, Basketball and Racing. Each style is a fashionable fit–finished look, great worn tucked-in or out, developed with separate silhouettes for both sexes (female cuts being shorter, slimmer and with set-in shoulder seams, instead of the typical unisex off shoulder seams, for a more feminine shape) and designed in a bold two-tone color block where the dominant color is a blue hue that is flattering to most complexions.

Keeping with the sport theme, Crew Trainers receive a woven, plaid Referee shirt. Crew Headgear includes a vintage-panel visor, a six-panel baseball cap and a low-crown, mesh-back trucker cap–all with brim sandwiched piping featuring the McDonalds Canada logo.

This out-of-the-box apparel concept also includes a set of fashion-forward styles for the McDonalds Canada Managers. In White Bedford Cord, Pearl Grey, Changeant Blue/Grey and Blue/Dark Grey Fashion Stripe, four shirt/blouse options interact perfectly with the Crew’s sporty apparel. Customized specifically for McDonalds Canada, the Bedford Cord fabric was developed to be opaque yet durable, while cross-dyed twill yarns give the Changeant fabric an eye-catching iridescent quality. Like the crew uniforms, Manager items are treated with a stain-resistant finish, plus a winkle release finish for additional easy-care wear. Plus, four neckwear choices for both men and women give ample opportunity to flash a corporate emblem.