Families from across the kingdom and throughout the entire GCC switched off their mobile phones, computers and television sets all day on Friday marking ‘A Day offline at McDonald’s. Officially launched in early September, the campaign caught the attention of thousands on social media channels, and impacted families across the region.
In the lead up to the event, McDonald’s distributed phone vaults– phone-sized containers with adhesive closures – to help families in Bahrain plan for the special day and spend uninterrupted time together. So far over 12,000 vaults have been distributed across all 17 branches in Bahrain, where a number of activities for children were hosted including storytelling, face painting, board games, coloring time and a family photo stand.
“Bahrain is undoubtedly a family-oriented country, and one that greatly values the importance of family relationships. However, increased workplace demands often result in decreased time for family bonding,” Abdulla Fakhro Director of Fakhro Restaurants Co. Licensee of McDonald’s in Bahrain, said.
“We at McDonald are having developed the A Day Offline initiative to bring mums, dads, children and loved ones together to enjoy uninterrupted family time. We believe in cultivating family relationships and are demonstrating our commitment by providing venues and opportunities to spend quality time together without modern day distractions.”
“The phone vaults are a fun and interactive tool to help parents resist the urge to pick up a mobile device on September 28th. The response so far has been incredibly positive and we understand that some parents plan to continue making use of the vaults after A Day Offline is concluded,” General Manager of McDonald’s Bahrain Hakan Serim, said.
“Spending time in the presence of loved ones has been shown to dramatically reduce stress, and the McDonald’s’ A Day Offline initiative is providing opportunities for families to join together and reconnect without interruptions. A concept like this is long overdue in Bahrain, and I see tremendous potential for this to become an ongoing event with fantastic results for families,” he added.
Based on the incredible success of last year’s campaign, McDonald’s has committed to make this an annual initiative whereby the organization will devote one day every September to celebrating the importance of uninterrupted family time.