What McDonald’s branding symbol appeared on the company’s 1962 packaging?

The Golden Arches appeared on McDonald’s packaging in 1962.

The arches had begun as physical features of McDonald’s restaurant buildings, where large yellow arches made the roadside locations visible to passing motorists. By the early 1960s, the company was using the shape more broadly as a recognizable brand symbol, including on packaging.

The arches eventually became the familiar golden “M,” one of the world’s most recognizable corporate marks. Their success came partly from repetition: the same simple form appeared on signs, wrappers, bags, advertisements, and restaurant architecture.

The 1962 packaging use predates the modern logo redesign credited to Jim Schindler in 1968. This distinction matters because the arches existed as branding before the final standalone “M” form was standardized.