The beginning of the McDonalds franchise
Arguably
one of the most well known fast food restaurants around the world is McDonalds.
Mac and Dick McDonald established McDonalds in December of 1948. They
franchised the restaurant in 1953 beginning in Arizona and California with the idea of
fast and simple food. They had an almost assembly line like process of making
food, where the speed of the food was the most essential part. Their original
menu consisted of hamburgers, fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and apple pie. All
of which were very cheap, even for at that time. A family of six could
comfortably feed everyone for around $2.00 to $3.00. In the 1960s and 1970s McDonalds
advertising campaign "look for the golden arches" gave a huge boost
in sales. This type of fast food style restaurant was the first of its kind and
really became popular because of its speed and simplicity.
In
1963 McDonalds restaurant came out with their very first TV commercial. The
McDonalds commercials we see today and the commercials we would have seen
almost 50 years ago would have been two completely different sights. After
watching the video on YouTube you will understand what I am talking about. The
video starts off with a black and white picture of the McDonalds restaurant.
The camera then zooms out some while it is looking for the newest McDonalds
advertising character, Ronald McDonald. It turns out that the audience is
watching a TV on a TV, which is a little confusing at first. The screen then
zooms in on this clown like figure that happens to be Ronald McDonald. Now when
I say this character is Ronald McDonald, I mean he looks nothing like the
Ronald McDonald that exists today. This character is wearing a hat that seems
to be made out of a McDonalds meal and has a cup for a nose, but I will say he
does have the very well known yellow and red stripes on his shirt. In the next
sequence of the commercial the clown talks to the audience and tells them about
what they have to offer and shows to be a very happy, playful, and cheerful
character that loves his McDonalds. I found the jingle at the end to be
surprisingly very catchy. It was a little short song with an upbeat feel that
gives the targeted audience a sense of happiness and peace. This is turn might
give the appearance that McDonalds’ food will also make you happy and at peace
if you go to their restaurant and eat their food. The clown, Ronald McDonald is also
dancing in the background while the jingle is going on, furthering the idea
that McDonalds will make you happy and want to dance. In my opinion, this first McDonalds TV commercial was a very effective way of promoting their product. Next lets talk about the McDonalds commercials in today's society.
The contemporary McDonalds
TV commercials that everyone knows
Still today in the 2012, McDonalds fast food restaurant continues to use TV commercials as an effective way of promoting its product. One of the newest McDonalds' commercials starts with a couple eating at a McDonalds restaurant and a pump up type song comes on in the background. Both people look shocked and amazed at the same time. It then moves to a lady and then another guy who both have the same look of amazement on their faces. It eventually turns to a women with a big juicy 1/3 pound burger with bacon and onion straws on it. Just describing this burger is making my mouth water. The overall commercial has an up beat, excited to see what everyone is shocked about, feel to it. When it eventually turns to what everyone is looking at, the lady holding the burger takes a bite and her facial expression shows pure enjoyment. This portrays the message that anyone eating this burger is going to have the same satisfied look on heir face after they take just one bite. The final scene before the commercial ends is the McDonalds' slogan, "I'm lovin it". This slogan has been a very effective slogan that has worked for many years. Next I will compare and contrast the two commercials and discuss how much they have changed in the past 50 years.
There are clearly many similarities and differences between the commercials that we see today and the commercials that our parents saw 50 years ago. Some similarities that I noticed between the commercials was the up beat attitude in general and the fun and enjoying background sounds. Both commercials have a catchy song or jingle that puts the audience in a good mood. Some differences that I noticed are the picture quality and setting of the commercial. The visual techniques as a whole have progressed a great deal. The first commercial had poor picture quality, mostly because when it was made and the technologies they had at that time, but the new one had a clear, vivid picture. In the first commercial there was a great deal of talking where in the newer video, none of the actors said a word. It was all based off facial expressions and body language. I also noticed the commercials emphasis is different. In the old commercial, the focus is on Ronald McDonald, where as in the new commercial, the emphasis is all about their newest product, the 1/3 Canadian bacon BBQ burger. I think there is a distinction because in the old commercial, McDonalds was still trying to get their name out there to the world, where in the newer commercial McDonalds is already a very well established fast food restaurant, so they can focus on their newer products rather then their image. All in all, both commercials are interesting to watch and in my opinion both are very effective advertisements that speak to their intended audiences at that time.
Looking at these two McDonald commercials clearly shows me how advertising methods have changed since the beginning of television. The first commercial is more of a narrative trying to sell the McDonalds experience, while the second targets a specific audience through the expressions of the actors. During the present day, due to the variety of food options, food places such as McDonalds cant advertise effectively to everyone for a few reasons. Some of these reasons include the price of marketing, the difficulty of adequately capturing everyone interest in one commercial, and different competitors offering a similar product. These factors plus more cause McDonalds to limit its audience. In the past McDonalds did not have as much competition so they could easily make their intended target the general public.
ReplyDeleteThese two McDonald commercials are good examples of how when a company is first starting out, they need to be much more general with their business or product in order to get their name out fast and easy. As you mentioned, when the company becomes as well known as McDonalds has, they can be much more specific with their product. McDonalds is such a great success due to their advertising. According to SuperSize Me, the documentary on McDonalds and fast food, McDonalds has spent 1.4 Billion dollars on advertising worldwide. McDonalds is already such a well-known successful company that maybe it is time for them to stop spending so much money on advertising and use their commercials for a good cause.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that these commercials were similar but it is clear that the focus and target audience was different. I think the first commercial speaks to a business model where McDonald's wanted to make McDonald's seem fun and desirable for kids. This is evident through the use of the clown and this is evident through the dialogue where the announcer says, "Come on and meet the boys and girls". The present day commercial has a much more general audience. This can be seen through the varying people yearning for a bit of the promoted sandwich. In the past, targeting children was a great tactic but with changing times, it has proved more beneficial to include a larger demographic. The targeting of a large population is great way to make your product known.
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