Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Summary
Between 1969 and 2005 McDonald’s argued that youth’s lack of experience and
management strategies were frequently eagerness to please left them vulnerable to
celebrated on the business pages of The New corporate exploitation.
York Times – a testament no doubt to the media
relations department’s ability to spin the McDonald’s public relations experts have sought
company’s mass-marketing efficacy into a much to legitimize its labour practices with articles
repeated American success story in this very about employee incentive programmes. They
important US newspaper. However, the brand have also been careful to feature happy and
was also often criticized in the news for the helpful servers in their marketing campaigns. The
labour, environmental and social externalities of declining teen population in the 1980s lead the
its expanding empire. These critiques company to hire more new immigrant workers,
underscored the most voiced concerns and seniors, and disabled workers, helping to
anxieties: namely problems with youth labour, its distance the corporation from the controversy of
encroachment on community values, youth labour.
environmentalism, globalization of culture, and
children's healthy lifestyles. Community and family values
expenses and most unpredictable aspects of the McDonald’s suburban values provoked a
McDonald’s system every effort was made to negative register. In 1969, when a black
rationalize the workforce. Apart from community in Cleveland boycotted McDonald’s
implementing technology to replace human restaurants, in protest over the corporation’s
labour, McDonald’s decided to use a youthful denial of franchise opportunities for black
workforce. people, McDonald’s value of mass inclusiveness
was challenged.
Yet youth labour proved a double edge sword.
McDonald’s treatment of its young workers In 1974, the urban residence of Greenwich
emerged as one of its earliest and most Village, New York, loudly protested that a second
challenging public relations concerns. Critics McDonald’s chain would threaten local family
1
Executive
Summary
owned shops, create more traffic congestion, contributor of fattening foods and asked them to
encourage loitering, and contribute to litter market leaner meats and other foods. By 1986,
problems. Protesters from Hell’s Kitchen New the American Medical Association had
York, to Belmont in the Bronx, rallied against the condemned the hamburger as the leading source
opening of McDonald’s restaurants. Every of saturated fat in the American diet. As of July
location McDonald’s failed to secure was more 1990 fries and hash browns were fried in 100 per
than simply a loss of income; it was a blemish on cent vegetable oil instead of the beef tallow
corporate image. Public relations staff worked mixture of much criticism by food campaigners.
tirelessly to turn around community opinion. Low fat milk, new salads, and more fibre rich
breakfast options were added to the menu.
Environment issues
in the plan was the agreement to eliminate foam accompanying toy food characters and television
packaging from its 8,500 US outlets and return to commercials. However, McDonald’s also made
paper wrappings. claims, such as meat “can make it easier to do
things like climb higher and ride your bike
Fat kids and burger panic farther”.
2
Executive
Summary
Against the back drop of aggressive McDonald’s from Subway and Starbucks (both of which
expansion in Britain, a group of British offered healthy sandwich options) was showing
Greenpeace activists decided to bring the up on the bottom line of the McDonald’s
“irrationalities of McDonaldization” to public Corporation as globalization, competition from
attention distributing a leaflet entitled “What’s other restaurants, and changing tastes and
wrong with McDonald’s?” that argued lifestyles began impacting the fast food
McDonald’s quest for profit had extended restaurant market. Between 1998 and 2002,
American imperialism into the third world, McDonald’s experienced declining rates of
encouraging labour exploitation and anti- growth and its actual share of the fast-food
unionism, devastated the environment and market fell more than three per cent. Sales were
gulled children into unhealthy diets. stagnant since 2000 and plummeted 2.8 per cent
in 2002, representing the first ever decline in the
The authors pointed to medical evidence that corporation’s history. In Europe too, stiff
linked: “a diet high in fat, sugar, animal products competition from other fast food chains and anti-
and salt, and low in fibre, vitamins and minerals McDonald’s sentiments began to effect the
– which describes an average McDonald’s meal” bottom line. After 30 years of phenomenal growth
to fatal illnesses such as cancer and heart in Britain, McDonald’s, who directly controls two
disease. The leaflet encouraged consumers to thirds of the 1,235 UK restaurants, reported a £61
boycott McDonald’s, enjoy vegetarian diets million decline in their profits from the previous
utilizing home-grown vegetables and eat year. But most tellingly McDonald’s stock lost
wholesome slow food together. about 70 per cent of its value.
threat to its long-term customers and exploited defend its right to advertise to children in the UK,
children's credulity with its promotions. If but in the USA, crusading lawyer Hirsh brought
anything, the court case only served to illustrate forward a law suit on behalf of the parents of two
the activists’ claims that this corporation used its overweight teenagers who claimed their children
position of global wealth and power to pummel were not aware that McDonald’s food was
those who would challenge its public image. fattening. In this instance, the Judge dismissed
the case.
The end of an empire?
Hirsh then filed a revised complaint accusing the
The cumulative weight of negative publicity, fast food giant of making misleading nutritional
coupled with burger fatigue, and stiff competition claims. The complaint not-only included the two
3
Executive
Summary
The head office decided it was time to stop the June 2007.
decline in global profits and the bleeding of
customers to healthier options, and charged its
communications specialists to respond to the
This is a shortened version of “From McLibel to
changing climate of opinion. This McDonald’s did
McLettuce: childhood, spin and re-branding”,
with great fanfare devoting billions of dollars in a
which originally appeared in Society and
global corporate re-branding intended to blunt
Business Review, Volume 2 Number 1 2007.
McDonald’s association with unhealthy kids.