Mcdonald's In Your Face All Over The Place

When I was a child, I used to beg my parents to stop at McDonald’s anytime we went anywhere. Sometimes they would even bribe me to go somewhere with the promise: “If you do a good job at the dentist, we’ll get McDonald’s afterward.” I remember quite vividly the toys that I collected over the years—Muppets and Sesame Street figures, Matchbox cars, and a few transformable happy meal items. Each week, these toys were advertised during each commercial break on Saturday morning cartoons, and my sister and I would promptly point out the latest offerings to our parents in an effort to sway their meal plans for the week. In addition to the toys, they also had a talking apple tree in the restaurant, a train on which visitors could dine, and a full
playground complete with ball pit, slide, and climbing web.However, most of these juvenile attractions have vanished as the company has overhauled its image in the last few years. Now, instead of Ronald McDonald and a host of his friends greeting visitors, the company advertises oatmeal, salads, cappuccinos, and gourmet coffees. A recent ad goes even further in this corporate makeover showing a stark contrast between the childish imagery of old, instead luring customers with gourmet chocolate and elegant café style drinks, downplaying the role of the traditional McDonald’s branding, and using clever wordplay to trick hungry but sophisticated readers into trying this newly rebranded corporation again. Jean Kilbourne, an outspoken critic of the effects advertising has on our culture, writes in a chapter entitled, “In Your Face All Over the Place” that “Advertising often sells a great deal more than products.
It sells values, images, and concepts of…, perhaps most important, normalcy” (74). In this ad, it’s clear that McDonald’s is focused on selling the gourmet beverages they have recently added to their menu, but the company is also working had to sell an image of maturity and sophistication. This image overhaul is no simple feat considering the history that McDonald’s has for childish junk food and primary colors. But rather than clowns and cartoon characters, this advertisement features rich delicious mountains of dark chocolate in the background of the image. With only a glance, viewers’ taste buds start watering as the glossy page reminds them of the bitter and sweet feeling of a piece melting in their mouth. These mountains stand stately behind a pair of tall glasses holding beverages concocted from this gourmet treat. One is labeled “hot chocolate” while the other proudly bears the name “mocha” and both are topped with whipped cream and drizzled in more chocolate syrup. The beverages enhance the savory yet elegant appearance, and remind readers that this café has something for everyone: mochas for coffee lovers and hot chocolate for those who do
not. When readers are curious about these beverages their eyes jump to the headline at the top of the page, but there is nothing at the top that leads them to knowledge of where to find treats.
Only at the center of the bottom is the company hinted at with the word: “McCafe.” Even then, only people familiar with the company would know from the “Mc” who this ad refers to. Others must read on, and finally as they reach the fine print at the bottom does it become clear this this is an ad for McDonald’s. This elegant pair of beverages represent the same company that once advertised with Fry-Guys, walking pom-poms made of French fries;the Hamburglar,a sneaky crook; Grimace, a big purple lump;Captain Crook, the Filet-o-Fish stealing rapscallion. Even the company logo, the trademarked golden arches, is buried in the bottom right corner, right next to the gutter of the magazine. Unless readers open the publication fully and flatten it out, they are not likely to reveal the logo. McDonalds is working hard to hide any images that might lead viewers to think of their immature persona the company once
flaunted. The clever wordplay throughout the text is the most striking example that this company wants you to think of nothing other than chocolate. At the top, the text removes key words and substitutes the word “chocolate.” The full text says, “Next time you think you’re craving a little chocolate, head over to chocolate for a tasty chocolate or chocolate. It’s all the chocolate you could possibly chocolate. Chocolate.” This is, at first read, witty, but it also reinforces the idea that the company is eliminating their persona entirely. In the sentence, “Head over to chocolate…” McDonald’s has chosen to not even print their name! Instead they want readers to focus entirely on their own desires for a warm, rich beverage. In the fine print at the bottom, McDonald’s tries the same repetition trick again with the fragment: “With creamy steamed milk, fluffy whipped cream and oodles of luscious chocolatey chocolate chocolateness.” The ad even goes so far as to invent two new forms of the word in order to reinforce this theme, for “chocolatey” and “chocolateness” are not real words, rather they are silly inventions to sell these grownup drinks with humor that the juvenile frequenters of the old McDonald’s would not understand.
It would be difficult to imply from this ad that this McDonalds is the same company that used to paint every available surface with a clown’s unsettling grin. McDonald’s has put away the grease paint. There are no primary colors or cartoon characters. All that frivolity has been replaced by elegant pink curlicues and bold browns and deep wine-rich reds. Deceptively elegant glassware is featured, for when guests dine in at this fine café, they are not treated tofooted stemware like this; instead, their beverage goes in a foam cup sealed with a plastic lid. However, for this photo session, McDonald’s beverages have put on the ritz. These beverages are serious treats for serious grownups, and the company wants these serious grownups’ business.