McDonalds: Open, Fair and Reliable
Nature, it's all around us. Photo courtesy andrew mudd
That's the new slogan in Germany. Time to supersize your ad supplement. In todays print FAS good ol' McDonalds slid a 16 page self-praise paper in Germany's conservative Sunday edition. The title page shows six different sized fries representing the companies growth: 6.2% more revenues than 2005. It's the fries, stupid!
There's no doubt about McDonalds franchise system, it's been rated the best in Germany for years, maybe even worldwide, but how credible is a 16 page PR supplement about burgers and fries? According to inofficial media data, costs for producing and delivering recyled burger bags in the FAS could add up to around €200,000. Could it have been invested more wisely?
On page one, the CEO informs readers about what a great year they've had, financially. On page 2, the second in line speaks about how flexible their work hours are, whopee! The hierarchy continues with the marketing chief and other happy franchise recipients - it's safe to say that everyone in the paper is extremely smile conscious.
If you think about it for a second: the gun, tobacco, alcohol and fast food industry have a few parallels. They aren't selling micro credits to african women or developing those fuel cell hummers. More like violence, death, cancer and obesity. Yet if they have Nick Naylor, the master of spin and spokesperson for Big Tobacco in the mockumentary "Thank You for Smoking,"
We're launching a $50 million anti-teen smoking campaign, because we know how important the family is.
They'll continue to prolong their growth periods. Personally, I couldn't live without the alcohol industry. Of course the bread and butter of tobacco business are teens. Forget the campaign, Naylor then wheels and deals with Hollywood's own Rob Lowe about getting cancer sticks back into the movies.
According to Michel Montignac, burgers without sloppy white buns are actually healthy in a low carb diet. Ok, if 1% of their food is actually good for something, including the salad, it can't be that bad. I'd recommend Morgan Spurlock's "Supersize Me" and double check an urban myth about beef from South America. Talk about core business, McDonalds is the second largest real estate owner in the world.
On page 15 you'll find a tidbit about a fundraising gala that collected a whopping €759,850 for sick children. Ever wondered how many happy meals are sold on a daily basis. Then there's page 12 with the enticing headline, "To move towards more moving." Heard about Ronald Gym Clubs? Mean either.