Case Study International Marketing

QUESTIONS

1. How should McDonald’s respond when ads promoting

healthy lifestyles featuring Ronald McDonald are equated

with Joe Camel and cigarette ads? Should McDonald’s elimi-

nate Ronald McDonald in its ads?

2. Discuss the merits of the law proposed by France that would

require fast-food companies either to add a health message

to commercials or pay a 1.5 percent tax on their ad budgets.

Propose a strategy for McDonald’s to pay the tax or add

health messages, and defend your recommendation.

3. If there is no evidence that obesity rates fall in those countries

that ban food advertising to children, why bother?

4. The broad issue facing McDonald’s U.K. is the current atti-

tude toward rising obesity. The company seems to have tried

many different approaches to deal with the problem, but the

problem persists. List all the problems facing McDonald’s and

critique its various approaches to solve the problems.

 5. Based on your response to Question 4, recommend both

a short-range and long-range plan for McDonald’s to

implement.