Greetings classmates,
I have chosen to respond to the third question. That is, "Why, in Solomon's view, has McDonald's been so successful in its ad campaigns?"
The answer to this question can be found on page 171. Here Solomon states, "McDonald's success can be traced to the precision of its advertising. Instead of broadcasting a single 'one-size-fits-all' campaign at a time, McDonald's pitches its burgers simultaneously at different age groups, different classes, even different races." What this means is that McDonald's has succeeded not by appealing to a particular niche market but by making itself appeal to everyone. That is, marketing itself to as broad of an audience as possible. In the paragraphs that follow, Solomon continues to discuss the specifics of how children, adolescents, teenagers, adults, and even senior citizens are targeted in their ads. What I find interesting, however, as Solomon himself also notes, is that sex does not come into play despite being one of the most powerful and widely used advertisements of all. He states on page 172, "This is understandable, given McDonald's desire to present itself as a family restaurant."
For the most part I would agree with Solomon's assessment. Each of his arguments are solid and it makes sense that by appealing to as large of an audience as possible an advertisement campaign would also maximize its success. However, I believe that social factors like lack of access to healthier alternatives and people not having as much time to cook anymore also contributes to their success. For many parents in particular, fast-food is a matter of convenience. I have no doubt that McDonald's advertisement campaign has played a huge role in their success, but I believe that the importance of the aforementioned external factors cannot be undermined.
James.
Hello James. In your response to the question, “Why, in Solomon’s view, has McDonald’s been so successful in its ad campaigns?” you responded first by quoting Solomon, “Instead of broadcasting a single ‘one-size-fits-all’ campaign at a time, McDonald’s pitches its burgers simultaneously at different age groups, different classes, even different races.” You then went on stating, “McDonald’s has succeeded not by appealing to a particular niche but by making itself appeal to everyone.” Perhaps I’m misreading this sentence, but it does sound contradictory to Solomon’s quote. I think McDonald’s actually does market to niches, such as “children, adolescents, teenagers, adults, and even senior citizens,” in separate advertisements. I do agree that McDonald’s reaches a large audience, but it does not, in Solomon’s words, use a “‘one-size-fits-all’ campaign.” I concur that advertising is certainly not the only factor in McDonald’s success, though I concede it is a huge factor. Some studies have even shown that the colors red and yellow, used in several fast food chains’s logos, increase our appetites. I think fast food is also appealing because of its speed, availability, convenience, and of course its price. It’s no secret, at least to me, that about half of Americans are low income or below the poverty line. When McDonald’s sells drinks and burgers for five dollars or less, they offer a product even the poorest American can afford. Additionally, McDonald’s along with many fast food chains has mastered the manipulation of the human tongue. The three most popular ‘drugs’ as I like to call them, aside from caffeine, in this unhealthy industry are salt, sugar, and fat. With fried, salted foods and sugary drinks, their products trigger a dopamine receptors that are in a fashion similar to addictive drugs. So in addition to being so affordable and readily available, McDonald’s turns its customers into addicts that keep coming back for more.
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