Week 4 EOC: McDonald's Response to "Super Size Me"

I feel that McDonalds handled the release of the documentary "Super Size Me" pretty well. It seemed as if McDonalds felt the man who decided to eat all those calories every day for 30 days was a total idiot. McDonald is the Wal-Mart of fast food restaurants and people fail to realize that the more attention you bring to these companies, the more your advertising their brand for free. It does not matter how many people stand in front of a McDonalds and hold picket signs all day, you cannot fight the brand. The company has called the documentary “a super-sized distortion of the quality, choice and variety available at McDonald’s.” It says the film is not about McDonald’s but about Spurlock’s decision to act irresponsibly by eating 5,000 calories a day — “a gimmick to make a film.” Both parties brought up significant arguments as defenses. McDonalds has made the effort in introducing a healthier menu to their broad consumers. Even though Spurlock, the man who made the documentary, ate some of those items during his fast food, 30 day diet, doesn't mean McDonalds is misleading their customers. In the McDonald's ad, the restaurant chain highlights the fact it has introduced healthier items to its menu. It claims the amount of food Spurlock ate during his experiment was quivalent to what the average McDonald's customer eats at the chain over six years. We all know that fast food isn't good for anyone period. Fast food consumption should be in moderation, and as an American trying to live a healthier lifestyle should realize that. Spurlock says, "I believe it's a two-way street because I believe there's not enough information coming out to the consumer. When you feed 46 million people every day, as McDonald's does, you have a huge responsibility - 46 million worldwide, half of them in America, 23 million every day, almost 10 percent of the population. You have a responsibility to help educate your consumer to make the right choices, letting them know how often they should eat the food." I feel that Spurlock made an agreeable argument, but what do people want from McDonalds? Do they want their advertisements to say "eat within moderation" or "do not overly consume," no, they will not.

 

http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/220087/
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4433307/ns/business-us_business/t/mcdonalds-phasing-out-supersize-fries-drinks/#.UfmXtIKaClU
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-615975.html