SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — In South Korea, most hospitals regulate that legal guardians must accompany their sick children when they are hospitalized. This leaves hundreds of thousands of mothers living in cramped, uncomfortable conditions on tiny caregiver beds for days, weeks, months — sometimes years — on end.
This unique caregiving culture is taken for granted by Korean society, and the struggles faced by mothers often go neglected. McDonald’s, a partner of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), wanted to bring attention to their hardships and highlight the need for an RMHC House in Seoul. Each RMHC House supports families with sick children by providing a home away from home, but currently, South Korea has only one RMHC in Yangsan — 388 km away from Seoul, where most children’s hospitals are situated.
Together with creative agency Leo Burnett Korea, McDonald’s launched “Mom’s Bed,” a campaign that shows just how cramped and uncomfortable caregiver beds are. Overnight, dozens of installations appeared in locations around Seoul, highlighting how the city’s ubiquitous tiny benches are no bigger than parents’ hospital beds. On streets, landmarks, shopping malls, and at McDonald’s restaurants, the installations compare the actual size of ‘mom’s bed’ with universal bed sizes, each inscribed with a real mother’s name. At the same time, QR codes link to genuine stories to inspire change and invite donations.
Following a massive “Mom’s Bed” installation in one of Seoul’s largest shopping malls named Goyang Starfield, influencers and ambassadors also shared photos of themselves to show how unacceptable and uncomfortable caregiver beds can be. These collective efforts have heightened social awareness regarding the Ronald McDonald House and have facilitated donations to support the construction of the second RMH in Korea.
With this support, plans for a second Ronald McDonald House in Seoul are being discussed to help more families with sick children.
“With ‘Mom’s Bed,’ we wanted to raise awareness of the desperate need for a RMH in Seoul,” commented Haeyeon Lee, Chief Marketing Officer at McDonald’s Korea.
“Learning about the hardships faced by so many parents was an incredibly humbling experience. We hope that more parents will sleep a little easier, ready to face whatever challenges might lie ahead, as a result of this campaign,” said SooHee Yang, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe Korea.
CREDITS:
Client: McDonald’s Korea
Chief Marketing Officer: Haeyeon Lee
Agency: Leo Burnett Korea
Chief Creative Officer: SooHee Yang
Executive Creative Director: Hyeah Nahm
Creative Director: Chungmo yang
Art Director: Hyesun Shin, Inwon Lee
Copywriter: Junseok Kang
Group Account Director: Joohun Kim
Account Manager: Chohui Kim, Seunghyun Kim
Media Planner: Jeehee Jung, Gwangsoo Yun
