Love It Or Hate It? ... The Mcdonalds Bid To Regain Bad Publicity!! (McDonald's)

Member Name: bubbles12

Product:	McDonald's
Date:	27/04/08 (701 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cures A HAngover If You Can Keep The Food Down.

Disadvantages: Many, I cant Name them all

The McDonald's restaurants can be found in over 120 different countries around the world, making them the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, on a daily basis McDonalds can serve over 54 million customers a day.

Over the years McDonald's has become well known or it's hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken burgers, French fries, mc muffins, soft drinks, milkshakes, doughnuts and apple pies.

More recently McDonalds has also added salads, wraps , deli rolls and fruit, to their menu.

THE HISTORY

McDonalds was founded in 1940, with a restaurant being opened by two brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in California. Their introduction of the "Speedy Service System" in 1948 established the principles of the McDonalds fast-food restaurant.

The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant in Illinois on April 15, 1955, this was the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall.

The man that purchased the franchise also purchased the McDonald brothers equity in the company and led the McDonalds fast food restaurant to worldwide expansion, giving us what we have today.

With the successful expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalisation and the spread of the world, it has just become a way of life.

Most standalone McDonald's restaurants offer both counter service and drive-through service, with indoor and sometimes outdoor seating.

Drive-Through often has a separate station for placing, paying for, and picking up orders, the drive through scheme was first introduced in Arizona in 1975, following the lead of the other fast-food chains.

PUBLIC DEBATE

Over the years the McDonald chain has become a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility. And to top it off the company has been hit really hard with the IRA and of course the film super size me.

McDonalds has overcome or is still trying to overcome the really bad publicity, that they have had over the years, obesity is a major problem and is related to McDonalds and its food, although it has been proven that McDonalds food is bad for you and your health, people still continue to eat it.

The movie super size me, hit McDonalds in a huge way, the film was based on true facts and figures, a man ate McDonalds for one whole month. He ate McDonald's breakfasts, lunches and tea. After this one month the guy had to stop filming and eating McDonalds, as doctors said if it continued to eat it daily he would die.

This had a major impact on MacDonald's and its consumers, I personally have not eaten a thing from the restaurants since watching this film, it frightened the life out of me. I was amazed how the company could continue to trade with this junk food when all of this movies content was proven, surly this would finish the company and its bad food forever.

Instead McDonalds have since put GDA charts (Guideline daily amounts) on to the foods packaging, these charts show the foods calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salt content.

McDonalds as revised there menu, no they didn't change it they just added offer salads, wraps, deli rolls and fruit, these are a little healthier but not by that much. All of this was done to try and overcome the bad publicity, and to let the consumers know everything that is contained in the food.

MCDONALDS REDESIGN

In another bid to help get over the bad publicity, In 2006 McDonald's introduced it plan to redesign all of their restaurants, this was the first major redesign since the 1970s.

Within this design McDonalds scrapped the red and yellow colours and big yellow M, and changed them to sunny yellow (mustard) and olive green colours and signs. The yellow M sign has now been renamed the golden arches.

The redesign was done warm up their look, the restaurants now have less plastic and more brick and wood, with modern hanging lights to produce a softer glow. Contemporary art or framed photographs will hang on the walls.

The new restaurants have feature areas, for example:

Linger zones, these have high backed arm chairs, sofas and Wi-Fi connections.

Grab and go, this is a tall counter area with bar stools, for customers who want to eat alone, this area will have the plasma TV's with news and weather reports.

Flexible zone is targeted at families, this contains booths with cushions and flexible seating.

This redesign of McDonald's chains has taken place in some of its franchises, but not all of them. I personally do not like the new design, yes it does look nice but it is so impractical, as most of it is open plan, so people are forced to eat with strangers, yes they do have booths but more often than not you can't get seated.

PLAY AREAS

Many McDonald's restaurants have included a playground for children and advertising geared toward children, and some have been redesigned in a more natural style, with a particular emphasis on comfort and the absence of hard plastic chairs and tables.

Some McDonald's in suburban areas and certain cities feature large indoor or outdoor playgrounds, called McDonald's Play Place if located inside and Play land if located outside. The first Play Place with the familiar crawl-tube design with ball pits and slides was introduced in 1987 in the USA, with many more being constructed soon after. With the redesign McDonalds are aiming to produce more outdoor play areas.

THE FOOD

Apart for the new editions of the side salads, deli rolls, wraps and fruit, I would say the food has not changed at all, it tastes as bad now as it did 15 years ago.

I recently picked up leaflets in my local McDonalds restaurant, the company have been made to display these so consumers know all about the company's produce and food, and I have to admit they are not in clear view, they were shoved in a corner and I did have to ask for them. Within these leaflets are guideline amounts, what their food is made from, where they get it, how they cook it ect. So if you are interested just ask for them the next time you are in store.

The average adult is allowed 2000 calories a day, and the average child is allowed 1600 calories a day, so according to the McDonalds GDA (guideline daily amounts),

A big Mc meal medium with fries and coke will set you back,

1010 calories 51% of your daily allowance
34g protein 46% of your daily allowance
42g fat 62% of your daily allowance
124G carbohydrates 45% of your daily allowance
3.1g salt 61% of your daily allowance.

So basically if you eat a big mc medium meal you have used over half of your daily guideline amounts, it is frightening but very true.
So think about the next time you eat a McDonalds, they are greasy, full of fat, rubbery, don't taste that fantastic after you eat them. Yes it is quick food granted, but it really doesn't do you a favour.

PRICES

Well McDonalds are not the good value, I don't think you can buy a thing for less than 99p, the average cost of a meal is:

3.59 This will get you a big mc, large fries and large drink.

1.99p will get you a happy meal, with either burger, nuggets, fish fingers and small fries, small drink and the free toy.

2.59p will buy you either a cheese burger, chicken burger, deli roll.

99p menu is great if you are skint, it will either get you, medium fries, medium drinks, double cheese burger, mc flurrys and a few other bits.

PROMOTIONS

The current promotion is the big money monopoly, if you buy meals and certain items at McDonalds you are in with a 1 in 4 chance of winning. The prices can be foods, vouches, cash, iPods, holidays and even a car.

Every time you purchase you will receive money off voucher for HMV.

If you think of the monopoly board, the streets and houses, you are half way there all you need to do is collect all of the house in one street, to claim the prize allocated to the street.

You do not need to collect every street and every house to enter, you can just claim for one street, but if you do collect every single house you can win mega money, I wouldn't hold your breath though as this has never been done before and the company run this every year.

OVERALL.

McDonalds is a massive company, and I don't even think that the bad publicity will bring it down, as it is convenient food to suit people's needs, and while it is easy for people they won't knock it will they.

The food is very over rated, and tastes awful, yes if you are hungry of have a stinking hangover it is great, but you always feel bad after eating it. Well I do not because I am health conscious because I am not, I do eat loads of junk but this stuff in my opinion is really bad, bad I every way possible.

It I very over priced for what you are getting, and the service is terrible the staff are all rude, with the exception of a few I have dealt with, they don't want to be there and most look like they haven't had a bath in week let alone wash their hands before serving your food.

POSITIVES

All of their packaging is recycled.

Not many at all, the big mc sauces taste really good, but not good enough to eat the whole burger of even pay the price.

HANGOVER CURE, the major positive from a McDonalds meal, is that if you are really suffering it will cure a bad hangover, when I was younger I would swear by this and yes it did work. I would have to really be suffering to eat this junk now. (I think I would is I was poorly)

NEGATIVES

Where can I start there are that many, overpriced, greasy, fattening, rude staff, food id cold by the time you eat it, tables are never clean, too much salt on chips and now the company are trying to get their branches open until 2am in the morning.

Summary: Mcdonalds is heading for a fall, or is it ?