10 – Marketing Towards Kids
- It’s likely never occurred to you, but a lot of criticism has been levelled at McDonalds because of how heavily they market towards kids
- Why? Well, if you think about it, things like Happy Meals and the toy bundles are actually a way to market to the younger generation, thus, gaining life-long customers
- In fact, this is the very reason they do – and even a documentary like Super Size Me can’t stop the juggernaut business from snagging its delicious, juicy hooks into a child’s mind
9 – Hamburgerology
- This sounds like something a satirical film, but it’s very much true
- In Chicago, Illinois, a place called Hamburger University was set up in 1961 as a training facility to teach before how to flip burgers, and tens of thousands of students flock here to learn
- They can teach in 28 different languages how to say “would you like fries with that” and even offers college credit
- Here’s hoping someone opens a Video Game University where you can learn how to play Tetris and get a degree for it
8 – Paying Rappers to reference the Big Mac in Songs
- This is part of their overarching marketing campaign – to subtly wing musicians some nickles merely at the mention of a Big Mac, whether referencing the burger or otherwise it didn’t matter
- Every time one of their songs was played with Big Mac referenced, they’d receive five bucks, which quickly adds up when you have tons of radio stations playing their music
- The organisation Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood were concerned about getting musical icons to promote unhealthy food, but at least we don’t have to hear the latest Bowie album about a man called Mac making it big
7 – Hello Kitty Riot
- This was a promotion in Singapore to give out Hello Kitty dolls dressed in wedding gowns
- The problem was the dolls were so popular that they exceeded supply, even to the point where people would pay for a meal only to discard it purely so they could keep the doll
- It got so bad that there was even a riot where seven people were injured after the crowd surged through a plate-glass door, and it wasn’t even the first time
- Apparently, people really love Hello Kitty
6 – Hot Coffee Lawsuits
- This is a very well-known scandal from the history of McDonalds, where in 1992 a 79-year-old customer was drinking her coffee when she spilled it and gave herself third-degree burns
- She sued McDonalds and won, awarded the grand total of a half-million dollars
- Very soon after, other lawsuits came flying in from people desperate to get their own slice of the legal goldmine, and it continues to this day