McDonalds advertising free essay sample

Abstract This essay seeks to explain the link between McDonalds advertisement and the effect on the average consumer. McDonalds is one of the most popular fast food chains in the United States and is also criticized for their unhealthy foods. In my analysis I will analyze the history of McDonalds and how their advertising and publicity has affected the public mindset. I will also analyze how their ads and marketing are appealing to their customers. With all of this research I conducted a survey that determined what exactly the consumer see in McDonalds that keeps them coming. I will then analyze the results and come to a conclusion on the overall impact McDonalds makes on society. McDonald’s and Their Advertising Influence Even though many know McDonalds may be unhealthy many still choose to eat there. This choice may be based on the influence of McDonald’s advertisements or personal choice. We will write a custom essay sample on McDonalds advertising or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page McDonalds has a long history that some have grown up to know and have shared this with their children. Some of the reasons society chooses to still eat there is because of their prices, advertisements and convenience. These ads that McDonalds produces create a rhetorical situation that involve and convince the audience that they have a need. From a survey conducted on their ads, the results are clear that McDonalds advertisements do make some impact and convince the consumer to buy their product. McDonalds is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world and that popularity has built over time from their influence in advertisements and other media outlets. McDonalds was founded in California on May 15,1940 and since then has grown to be the largest fast food chain in the world. They serve around 68 million customers every day worldwide (McDonald’s Corporation). That kind of power came from influence and popularity of their business. The influence McDonalds uses is their knack for advertising, although they did not always have the same advertising techniques as they do today. They started out as simple jingles that showed their products and locations as being clean and a family oriented. One advertisement that shows this evolvement from their original simple methods to their now rhetorical technique is below and figure 1 in the appendix. This photo features a baby that is sucking on a nipple that is a hamburger bun. This presents a situation to the audience in which they have to understand. The baby is simulating a sacred ritual that is normally between the baby and its mother (Speider 2012). McDonalds has also used social media to connect with consumers in a way that is acceptable with their peers. Ads of this type were never shown in the 40’s when McDonalds was created (DiPippa 2006). Over time they have gotten even more personal with the consumer to make them feel invited and comfortable. McDonalds has one particular ad that is influencing to most and has been reviewed and analyzed by a professional. This ad is comes from the McDonalds in China and is reviewed by the company Lab Brand. The ad opens with close ups of their breakfast products and then it depicts their target customer. They depict him as a young professional in an office building. While in the quiet elevator he holds a McDonald’s bag as the elevator rises it symbolizes his ascension. From that ad Lab Brand says â€Å"McMorning is not just a breakfast; it is a tool. The McMorning breakfast does not just satisfy; it empowers. The McMorning breakfast gives this young executive the energy and confidence to rise professionally and socially† (Brand Source 2008). The purpose of this ad is to imply that a McDonalds breakfast to the consumer is advancement and a lift on their day. Although this may sound good, in reality there are fallacies to the plot of this ad. One being even if you were to eat McDonalds, there is no evidence that proves that you will have a good day or a bad day. This is an implication to the ad since there is no supporting evidence other than this one person who may have been affected positively from a McDonalds breakfast. It also may have an emotional impact on some of its audience that will give them a euphoric feeling of hope. I believe that this ad presents a situation to the consumer that they may relate to and desire to achieve. But, in reality it is a rhetorical scenario created by McDonalds to influence the consumer into thinking that by having McDonalds for breakfast that they somehow will have a great day and achieve great things. McDonalds has always chosen an audience for in which they want to spend their time advertising. When they started out they were family oriented with a knack for cleanliness (Speider 2012). This method was not as relatable as the ads created for consumers today. This has evolved over time to target all kinds of consumers in different markets. The ads seen today imply a situation that a consumer can relate to or a problem, which they need to solve. This gives the consumer the desire for their product to solve either of McDonalds desired outcomes. The ads may feature a young man or a mom that they try to relate to young people or children. They may use a mother in an ad to make a child feel comfortable with McDonalds, since a mother is a child’s safe base. They also use toys as a method of enticing children into convincing their parents into coming just for the toy. Some of their ads use pricing such as the â€Å"Dollar Menu† to appeal to the thrifty consumer that wished to save and they may see it as â€Å"only a dollar†. One attractive print ad to some is the one with coupons that the consumer can use to get a cheaper meal. The advertisements are important to drive customers to one of their 33,000 restaurants (Kowitt 2011). The methods in which these ads are delivered are an important step for McDonalds because if they are not deployed correctly they may not reach their intended audience. McDonalds uses several methods to deploy their ads such as TV, Radio, Social Media, Billboards, and Print. For the purpose of this essay, a survey was conducted with the goal of understanding how McDonalds ads influenced the customer. This survey was given to 30 college students in the form of an online questionnaire. The survey participants consisted of 55% female and 45% male. The questions were simple and asked what kinds of ads they have seen McDonalds use. The entire list of questions can be seen in the appendix as figure 2. These answers from the survey concluded some of my research questions. From the survey, 72. 7% of the surveyed audience sees most McDonalds ads on T. V; this data is shown in the graph below and in figure 3 of the appendix. The next question was how many McDonalds ads that subject has seen in the past thirty days. This question created a diverse set of answers that ranged from 0-30. The next question was what ad appealed to the subject the most, which turned out to be a T. V. advertisement that interested 54% of the subjects. The second most appealing was a billboard advertisement. The most convincing item to the subjects that brings them to McDonalds is convenience. This convenience is their locations, drive-thru and hours. At the end of the survey it was clear that the ads were successful in influencing the average consumer. The survey also showed that out of all surveyed that they all have seen a McDonalds advertisement. This shows that McDonalds has been able to penetrate all markets to gain the audience of most consumers. They also showed that McDonalds knows what areas to focus on to drive the growth of their business. McDonalds is one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world and that popularity has built over time from their influence in advertisements and other media outlets. Their popularity has been built from their ability to tailor their ads to their audience and have them evolve with society. They also have an impressive ability to deploy the ads that are relevant to the market they are trying to reach. This use of advertisement can have a negative or positive effect on the consumer. A negative effect of their ads is a false sense of hope. A positive effect is an informed consumer. McDonalds has built a solid customer base from their creative advertisements that influence consumers into thinking that they have a need McDonalds. References Brand Source. (2008). Retrieved from http://www. labbrand. com/brand-source/advertising-analysis-mcdonald’s-china-0 DiPippa, J. (2006). Regulating food advertisments: Some first amendment issues. University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review, 28, 413-761. Kaufman, F. (2012). Mcdonalds. Foreign Policy, 52. Kowitt, B. (2011, August 23). Cnn. Retrieved from http://management. fortune. cnn.  com/2011/08/23/why-mcdonalds-wins-in-any-economy/ McDonalds Corporation. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. aboutmcdonalds. com/mcd/our_company/mcdonalds_history_timeline. html Roberto, C. (n. d. ). Ncbi. Retrieved from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC2667851/ Schroder, M. , McEachern, M. (2005). Fast foods and ethical consumer value: A focus on Mcdonalds and KFC. British Food Journal, 107(4), 212-224. Speider, S . (2012). Noupe. Retrieved from http://www. noupe. com/inspiration/mcmarketing-mcdonalds- marketing-and-advertising-hits-and-pits. html Appendix A Figure 1. Source: (Speider) Figure 2. McDonalds Advertising 1. What is your gender? What is your gender? Female Male 2. Which of these advertising methods appeal to you the most? Which of these advertising methods appeal to you the most? TV Radio Internet Ad Billboard Social Media Paper 3. How many McDonalds ads have you seen in the past thirty days? (Open Response) 4. What type of McDonalds ad appeals to you the most? Radio TV Internet Paper Billboard Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, etc. ) Other (please specify) 5. What in McDonalds ads convinces you to go? Price Food Item Convenience Location Other (please specify) 6. Are you more likely to go to McDonalds if you see an advertisement? Yes No 7. On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the worst and 5 being the best, what do you think the effectiveness of McDonalds ads are? 1 2 3 4 5 8. If a social media ad for McDonalds came up would it influence you more toward going to McDonalds? Yes No 9. Do the advertisements for McDonalds you see contain nutritional information? Yes No N/A 10. Do you think if nutritional information was included in all McDonalds ads that it would affect your decision to go to McDonalds? Yes No Link to Survey: http://www. surveymonkey. com/s/Y8VBV2W Figure 3.