“We were taken to a fast food café where our order was fed into a computer. Our hamburgers, made from the flesh of chemically impregnated cattle, had been broiled over counterfeit charcoal, placed between slices of artificially flavored cardboard and served to us by recycled juvenile delinquents.” - Jean Michel Chapereau
To explore the methods that fast food giants use to sell their products to willing customers, I looked into the existing advertisements and branding of the most popular and successful chains in contemporary society.
McDonalds
In the UK there are 1,200 restaurants which serve approximately three million people every day.
By exploring the Mcdonald's website I found that they do a section for the public to ask them questions about their restaurants. I wanted to know how McDonalds reply to questions around slaughter and sustainable meats.
Here it can be seen how McDonalds attempt to reassure the consumer that they are buying into meat which is as sustainable and as humane as possible, to reaffirm their lifestyle choices and prove that eating meat is not too much of a bad thing.
Next I looked at their advertisement choices:
This image alienates the audience who may be into more healthy food, by implying that every person would prefer to eat a burger. The use of synthetic personalisation addresses the audience directly and forms a conversational discourse structure, a tactic which is apparent in many advertisements. The image depicts a large burger looking very 'aesthetically pleasing' and perfect, standing tall and important, demonstrating that McDonald's big macs are superior to healthier choices such as a salad. The logo reinforces the McDonald's branding at the bottom, and the overall colour choice of red which is predominantly featured in many food branches, is implemented to make the consumer feel hungry.
Again the audience is met with the colour red which is part of McDonald's brand identity. A similar image of a big mac is also shown here, alongside the tagline 'hail to the beef'. The use of the word beef detaches the audience from the product which essentially an animal. It is also interesting to note on the choice of word 'hail', insinuating that meat is glorious and superior, something to be celebrated.
This advertisement makes the audience feel involved and united, the inclusive pronoun 'we' communicates a sense of togetherness, that everyone enjoys McDonalds, and it is a common thing to consume. This is a very successful way to relax a consumer and make them feel included into the brand, which is something I can take forward into my own brand.
McDonalds is also a franchise restaurant, meaning it is owned by separate individuals, licensed by the brand. This would be a great future for the fast food brand I create; meaning it could expand over a large global scale, and be an alternative for owners of small vegan cafes.
"McDonald's has over 30,000 restaurants in the world, operating in over 100 countries. Within the UK, there are approximately 1200 restaurants, of which around 600 are franchises." source
Colour change:
Around 2009, McDonalds chose to change it's interiors and other signage from red to green.
"We want to clarify our responsibility for the preservation of natural resources. In the future we will put an even larger focus on that," McDonald's Germany VP Holger Beeck said in a statement. source
The colour green evokes a response in the audience that relates to sustainability, the environment and nature, which is the reasoning behind McDonald's choice to change their colour scheme. Red still remains within their identity, but the green is a clever way to instil certain ideologies onto their consumers. Animal agriculture is the leading cause responsible for detrimental effects on our climate and the destruction of our natural resources. McDonalds have used green to promote the idea that they care for the environment:
Eventually, it would be a goal to achieve a level of social integration as Mcdonalds does, with the chain being respected and iconic, known globally and loved by many; bringing Veganism into the public eye.
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