fix essay

Shirley Chen

Professor Syreeta

English 101

11.09.2017

Fast Food

McDonald’s is a major fast food restaurant that has managed to retain its customers for years. McDonald not only focuses on making its food better and better, it aims to maintain a stable relationship with its customers so that they can keep coming back for me. One major way of doing this is via advertisement. For years McDonald has outdone itself when it comes to advertisements. Year after year the advertisements have become bigger and better.

New dad, Cha Cha slide and Grandmother and granddaughter are McDonald commercials that are aimed at Attraction families with strong bonds into consuming McDonald fast foods because only their “trusted friend” can maintain these family values.

New Dad is a video about a father who is driving around with his son. He does not want to pull over and place his order properly so he drives round and round while shouting out his order. At first the staff does not get him. Then the attendant notices he baby in the back seat and understands what s happening. They therefore coordinate and work together to ensure the man does not have to stop his car and he still gets his snack. Cha-cha slide is an advertisement about a son who walks into his family home during a meal. He walks in with a bag of McDonald fries while dancing to the Cha-Cha song. It makes him so happy that he actually eats the fries to the beats and words of the Cha-Cha song. Lastly the Grandmother and granddaughter advertisement begins with the grand mother and the grand daughter getting ready to leave. They are doing their make up while dancing and singing alone to a song on the back ground. The minute they step out of the house they find themselves in a McDonald’s restaurant a fact that seems to make them extremely happy. The little girl late finds her gift in the snack and she kisses her grandmother ingratitude and excitement.

This advertisement seems so innocent but they are quite strategic. Firstly, these three advertisements appeal to the emotions of the people involved and consequently the target market. The New dad advert creates a picture of a father who loves his child and does not want to do anything that could make him sad. This appeals to all the single dada and all the fathers in general who can relate. Many fathers live their children and thus the target market herein is widened. The element of compassion and understanding is also emphasized in this advertisement. The staff immediately cooperates with the father just to make sure him and his son are comfortable. The grandmother and granddaughter advertisement relays the emotions of love and the timelessness of love. According to the advertisement the grandmother has quite a great time interacting with her granddaughter irrespective of the age gap. They are so excited that they are going to McDonald ad therefore the room is full of love and laughter. Basically in all these three videos McDonald’s tries to make it clear that it can cater for all generations starting from the new born, young adults, adults and even the elderly. The trick here is that people are always captured by anything that can accommodate their families. No body wants to go out and be forced to leave their child behind. Therefore by appealing to these strong emotions that are as a result of family ties, McDonald’s continues to make a name for itself because of the loyal customers who are stuck by it regardless of the rising number of competitors.

The intended audience as briefly discussed above includes, children and basically people who love their children and want to make them happy. The New dad commercial targets dads, children and mothers. The granddaughter and grandmother targets all the generations, and the Cha-Cha song targets people of al ages and races as well because the boy in the advertisement is from the black American community. This inclusivity aims to ensure that no race, age or gender is left out. Again he breaks the stereotype by showing a father taking care of his child. In most instances the new boy would have been with the mother and not the father. Breaking the stereotypes shows that even people of all genders and sexuality are included.

Another interesting fact about these three advertisements is the background music. The Cha-Cha slide song for instance has a very peculiar role in the advertisement. The boy not only dances to the beat but also does as the song says. As he eats the fries he eats follows the instructions of the song. The song makes the meal enjoyable and fun. This song makes it seem enjoyable to eat the McDonald’s meals as compared to the boring meal the rest of the family are eating. The songs in these three advertisements also serve to create a certain allusion and atmosphere that works for the good of the organization (Schlosser). For example the song in the grandmother and grand daughter advertisement creates an atmosphere of relaxation. It is clear that Americans are busy individuals. Anything that can help them relax with their family is probably going to be in the top of the list. By using songs to display relaxation and fun, it is easy to see how McDonald’s targets its audience by specifically addressing the things that they like the most.

In conclusion therefore it is clear to presume that McDonald’s has a clear motive when it comes to its advertisements and the advertisement strategies. By meeting the needs of the family and upholding family values, consumers do not stop to see whether the products they are consuming are good for them or not (Schlosser). The advertisements also prove that McDonald’s major target is the child. Children have been known to make their parents do things or consume things they would ordinarily do or consume. This means that parents are able to trust McDonald’s to not only meet their needs but also to meet their children’s needs. Additionally the gifts in the snacks in the grandmother and granddaughter advertisement show that the interests of the children are catered for such that they can eat their favorite snacks while still enjoying their favorite cartoon characters. It is common knowledge that children do not like to eat food. Therefore this advertisement shows that McDonald’s is aware of this fact and is restricted to ensure that children are able to love eating as much as thy love playing.

Works Cited

Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Mariner Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.