Seoul, South Korea – McDonald’s Korea has partnered with global advertising agency Leo Burnett Korea to create its latest campaign that shines light on the living conditions mothers and other caregivers undergo when their child is hospitalised.
Titled ‘Mom’s Bed’, the campaign puts a spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of mothers in South Korea that live in cramped, uncomfortable conditions on tiny caregiver beds for days, weeks, months—sometimes years—on end just to take care of their hospitalised children.
McDonald’s and Leo Burnett Korea’s ‘Mom’s Bed’ campaign film depicts this very struggle that carers face, showing just how cramped and uncomfortable caregiver beds are.
In South Korea, parents or legal guardians are obligated by law to stay and look after their children when they’re confined in the hospital. However, the unique caregiving culture is often taken for granted, and the struggles faced by mothers or guardians are neglected.
Furthermore, South Korea has only one RMHC (Ronald McDonald House Charities) in Yangsan, which is approximately 388 km away from Seoul, where most children’s hospitals are situated.
As a partner of RMHC, McDonald’s wanted to highlight the need for an RMHC House in Seoul. Each RMCH house can support families with sick children by providing them with a home away from home and a more comfortable place to stay as they look after their child. One RMHC house will have around 100 rooms, a kitchen, a play room, and a learning space to accommodate up to 100 families.
As part of the campaign, dozens of installations appeared overnight in locations around Seoul, highlighting how the city’s ubiquitous tiny benches are no bigger than parents’ hospital beds. Further, on streets, landmarks, shopping malls, and 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, while QR codes link to genuine stories to inspire change and invite donations.
Following a massive ‘Mom’s Bed’ installation in Goyang Starfield, one of Seoul’s largest shopping malls, influencers and ambassadors also took part and shared photos of themselves, further emphasising how unacceptable and uncomfortable caregiver beds are. This movement led to record-breaking donations to make RMHC possible.
Through this campaign, a site has now been approved for Seoul’s first RMHC, which will be located right next to Seoul’s Children’s Hospital and is on track to open in 2024.
Haeyeon Lee, chief marketing officer at McDonald’s Korea, said, “With ‘Mom’s Bed’, we wanted to raise awareness of the desperate need for RMHC houses in Seoul. Thanks to all the generous donors and stakeholders who were inspired by this campaign—by shining a light on caregivers and the burden they shoulder, we are thrilled to confirm that Seoul will soon have its first RMHC.”
Also speaking on the campaign, SooHee Yang, chief creative officer at Publicis Groupe Korea, shared, “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.”
