Welcome to the world of "local washing" and "anti-branding", a marketing concept that has been described as companies playing dress-up, hiding or at least minimising their multinational origins. By pretending to blend in with the local crowd, many brands hope to earn something that can't be bought with marketing money: the "local" factor. Alen Allday, a market analyst from IBISWorld, says McDonald's is chasing after people who wouldn't normally go to McDonald's and prefer the likes of small operators such as Grill'd, Lord of the Fries and Urban Burger. "A lot of cafes are hipster-ish and have that 'cool' feel to it, which is a natural trend at the moment," he says. "What McDonald's has done is refurbished and furnished with cool fixtures and lighting and see how far they can take it." Anti-branding isn't a new concept, but its power has been heightened thanks to more consumers wanting to support local businesses and know where their food comes from. In 2014, a Galaxy poll revealed that 58 per cent of people believe small business give their community an identity and 45 per cent said they provide better customer service than big chains.

The concept began gaining traction in the US, when Starbucks opened new stores in 2009 without their familiar green logo or even name. The "inspired by Starbucks" store served alcohol, hosted live music and poetry readings and the decor was decidedly non-corporate. At the time, executive officer Howard Schultz said the stores were a "laboratory" for new ideas, although this didn't wash with customers and the stores were soon branded as Starbucks. "It wasn't so much that we were trying to hide the brand, but trying to do things in those stores that we did not feel were appropriate for Starbucks," he said at the time. In 2009, Forbes wrote that the big brands have cottoned onto the "strong consumer movement" towards picking local and "looked for ways to cater to this new consumer desire." "Wal-Mart started selling veggies grown by nearby farmers in some stores, hanging a "local" banner over the produce aisle."

McDonald's has seemingly also dabbled in anti-branding in Sydney's Camperdown last year, when it opened The Corner, a slick cafe serving lentils, chipotle pulled pork and craft soft drink. Laura Keith, director of corporate communications for McDonald's Australia, did not respond to questions about the company's logo-less advertising but told Fairfax Media the hipster-inspired design of some of their new outlets, including Thornleigh in NSW, was simply part of the brand's "innovation" and reflected customer's changing tastes. McDonald's wanting to share in the growing equity of small, independently owned operators does make sense – dollar and cents. In 2014, the second quarter sales for the Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa operation, which Australia is part of, fell 7.3 per cent. At the same time sales have fallen, small business has gone through a boom. According to IBISWorld, the number of locally-owned cafes grew 3.2 per cent between 2010 and 2015. Just two years earlier, Starbucks was forced to close 61 of its 85 stores after its big-branded mass launch failed to make a dent in Melbourne's cafe culture that is built on a sense of community and relationships – something a faceless multinational could struggle to replicate. A report from the Australian National University earlier this year said: "it is understandable that most people build a relationship with their barista who probably knows their name, and possibly their order."

"Most Australians love this personal connection and seeing a friendly face first thing in the morning before they get to work. The Australian cafe becomes a community centre, a place for people to chat, catch up with friends and get a cup of coffee (just the way they like it) day in and day out." Allday says a backlash against multinationals is almost inevitable, but questioned whether trying to fit in with the crowd would be successful. "It's a little bit deceitful, if people walk into a cafe thinking it's one thing and they discover it's actually McDonald's. To me, it seems like a bit of a short-term trend."