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What impresses me most about McDonald's is the highly effective and efficient incentive structure. You have the franchise owner who is very committed financiall

What impresses me most about McDonald's is the highly effective and efficient incentive structure. You have the franchise owner who is very committed financially and can make a high income, plus lots of low cost labor following a very precise process. And they seem to be able to replicate it at almost any scale. What impresses me least about McDonald's is their ruthless child-targeted advertising. EDIT: in sort of a quaint way the incentive structure is reminiscent of the manorial system.

dcwca 9y ago
I haven't seen child-targets marketing from them in decades here in Canada. Where do you live and what do you see?
- elevensies 9y ago
  Also in Canada, I just assumed they were still doing it -- I don't watch any children-targeted media so I wouldn't see it anyway. I think I saw an ad during the hockey game last night of a kid eating a McMuffin at night. But a quick look at their youtube channel and it seems they're still at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMQt_-w75Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMQt_-w75Y
  - freeflight 9y ago
    >I just assumed they were still doing it Can't really confirm that assumption, even outside of Canada where there's no regulation in place. Last time I remember McDonald's specifically marketing to children was in the 80's, since then they've changed their marketing approach several times focusing more on how "healthy" the food supposedly is or how it's locally sourced.
- ced 9y ago
  I don't know about other provinces, but "In Québec, the Consumer Protection Act prohibits commercial advertising directed at children under 13 years of age." https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/media/documents/consommateur/sujet/publicite-pratique-illegale/EN_Guide_publicite_moins_de_13_ans_vf.pdf https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/media/documents/consomm...
  - wolco 9y ago
    I wasn't aware of that. Does that include toys or child related products? One could say that movies have turned into one long series of product placements.
    - ced 9y ago
      It seems to be pretty strict, eg. Example of prohibited advertising: The Rappido Company is advertising a remote-controlled toy car like one seen in an animated film. The advertisement is broadcast on Saturday morning on a TV channel for children during a cartoon program. The ad is in animated film format and shows a young boy who is thrilled to be operating his high-speed car. This ad would be prohibited. But there's no mention of product placement. I imagine that would be hard to account for.
JohnJamesRambo 9y ago
What is wrong with advertising to children? They don't have any money, the parents can always say no or the kids can learn quickly how to determine if they should do what ads tell them to do. They will greatly need that skill in modern America. Teach them early haha.
- lightbyte 9y ago
  >the kids can learn quickly how to determine if they should do what ads tell them to do. The problem is they can not do this at all. Children are extremely easy to manipulate, and that is pretty much what advertising is.
  - ruleabidinguser 9y ago
    As a kid I quickly learnt to distrust ads, so I'm not sure why you think kids can't do this. They may not be adults, but they're not robots either.
    - lightbyte 9y ago
      You personally might not be able to, but there is a lot of research that shows children can't always understand that they are watching an advertisement, and what that entails. That's why the US has lots of regulations regarding advertising to children.
      - 67726e 9y ago
        > That's why the US has lots of regulations regarding advertising to children. We have regulation on advertisements to children? That's a little surprising.
        lightbyte 9y ago
        This one is more on the data collection side of advertising, but I'd say it's still relevant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Pr...
pitt1980 9y ago
you might enjoy: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2484147-lessons-i-learned-at-mcdonald-s-that-help-me-build-software https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2484147-lessons-... from Ed Weissman (who's #6 in overall karma on HN)
- Diamons 9y ago
  Enjoyed the read overall but one line stuck out: "- I take one bite out of my cold Big Mac and eat one cold fries and throw it all out." You have to be a special kind of asshole to throw away meat and food instead of just saying the food is cold.
  - gjm11 9y ago
    Asshole? Why? What harm or pain did Ed cause to anyone by throwing the food away?
    - msie 9y ago
      Seems disrespectful to poor, starving people.
      - seansoutpost 9y ago
        This country (USA) throws away $537 Billion retail in food annually. I don't think it's just this guy.
        drakonandor 9y ago
        Does trash really have a $ value? ;)
      - linkregister 9y ago
        1. 40% of food in the U.S. is discarded. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf 2. Much food is never harvested. A large portion of it is also never taken to market due to blemishes. http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/food-waste-remains-persistent-problem-farms-grocery-stores-and-restaurants http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/food-waste-rem... 3. Supermarkets discard about 1/3 of their food due to spoilage, blemishes, and overripeness. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/25/351495274/supermarkets-waste-tons-of-food-as-they-woo-shoppers http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/25/351495274/sup...
23443463453 9y ago
Speaking of ruthless "child-targeted advertising" (WARNING: Auto-Play audio, as if you needed another reason to hate yahoo) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-candy-colored-nightmare-204647894.html http://finance.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-...
douche 9y ago
> What impresses me least about McDonald's is their ruthless child-targeted advertising. I don't have any of the kid-centric television channels, so from the radio and television spots that I've experienced, I would have to say that McDonald's advertising appears to be heavily marketed towards the black community. For instance, this one has been on heavy rotation in the past few months: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASqC809WaHs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASqC809WaHs

dcwca 9y ago

I haven't seen child-targets marketing from them in decades here in Canada. Where do you live and what do you see?

elevensies 9y ago
Also in Canada, I just assumed they were still doing it -- I don't watch any children-targeted media so I wouldn't see it anyway. I think I saw an ad during the hockey game last night of a kid eating a McMuffin at night. But a quick look at their youtube channel and it seems they're still at it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMQt_-w75Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWMQt_-w75Y
- freeflight 9y ago
  >I just assumed they were still doing it Can't really confirm that assumption, even outside of Canada where there's no regulation in place. Last time I remember McDonald's specifically marketing to children was in the 80's, since then they've changed their marketing approach several times focusing more on how "healthy" the food supposedly is or how it's locally sourced.
ced 9y ago
I don't know about other provinces, but "In Québec, the Consumer Protection Act prohibits commercial advertising directed at children under 13 years of age." https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/media/documents/consommateur/sujet/publicite-pratique-illegale/EN_Guide_publicite_moins_de_13_ans_vf.pdf https://www.opc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/media/documents/consomm...
- wolco 9y ago
  I wasn't aware of that. Does that include toys or child related products? One could say that movies have turned into one long series of product placements.
  - ced 9y ago
    It seems to be pretty strict, eg. Example of prohibited advertising: The Rappido Company is advertising a remote-controlled toy car like one seen in an animated film. The advertisement is broadcast on Saturday morning on a TV channel for children during a cartoon program. The ad is in animated film format and shows a young boy who is thrilled to be operating his high-speed car. This ad would be prohibited. But there's no mention of product placement. I imagine that would be hard to account for.

JohnJamesRambo 9y ago

What is wrong with advertising to children? They don't have any money, the parents can always say no or the kids can learn quickly how to determine if they should do what ads tell them to do. They will greatly need that skill in modern America. Teach them early haha.

lightbyte 9y ago
>the kids can learn quickly how to determine if they should do what ads tell them to do. The problem is they can not do this at all. Children are extremely easy to manipulate, and that is pretty much what advertising is.
- ruleabidinguser 9y ago
  As a kid I quickly learnt to distrust ads, so I'm not sure why you think kids can't do this. They may not be adults, but they're not robots either.
  - lightbyte 9y ago
    You personally might not be able to, but there is a lot of research that shows children can't always understand that they are watching an advertisement, and what that entails. That's why the US has lots of regulations regarding advertising to children.
    - 67726e 9y ago
      > That's why the US has lots of regulations regarding advertising to children. We have regulation on advertisements to children? That's a little surprising.
      - lightbyte 9y ago
        This one is more on the data collection side of advertising, but I'd say it's still relevant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Protection_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children%27s_Online_Privacy_Pr...

pitt1980 9y ago

you might enjoy: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2484147-lessons-i-learned-at-mcdonald-s-that-help-me-build-software https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/2484147-lessons-... from Ed Weissman (who's #6 in overall karma on HN)

Diamons 9y ago
Enjoyed the read overall but one line stuck out: "- I take one bite out of my cold Big Mac and eat one cold fries and throw it all out." You have to be a special kind of asshole to throw away meat and food instead of just saying the food is cold.
- gjm11 9y ago
  Asshole? Why? What harm or pain did Ed cause to anyone by throwing the food away?
  - msie 9y ago
    Seems disrespectful to poor, starving people.
    - seansoutpost 9y ago
      This country (USA) throws away $537 Billion retail in food annually. I don't think it's just this guy.
      - drakonandor 9y ago
        Does trash really have a $ value? ;)
    - linkregister 9y ago
      1. 40% of food in the U.S. is discarded. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf 2. Much food is never harvested. A large portion of it is also never taken to market due to blemishes. http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/food-waste-remains-persistent-problem-farms-grocery-stores-and-restaurants http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/food-waste-rem... 3. Supermarkets discard about 1/3 of their food due to spoilage, blemishes, and overripeness. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/25/351495274/supermarkets-waste-tons-of-food-as-they-woo-shoppers http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/09/25/351495274/sup...

23443463453 9y ago

Speaking of ruthless "child-targeted advertising" (WARNING: Auto-Play audio, as if you needed another reason to hate yahoo) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-candy-colored-nightmare-204647894.html http://finance.yahoo.com/news/starbucks-unicorn-frappuccino-...

douche 9y ago

> What impresses me least about McDonald's is their ruthless child-targeted advertising. I don't have any of the kid-centric television channels, so from the radio and television spots that I've experienced, I would have to say that McDonald's advertising appears to be heavily marketed towards the black community. For instance, this one has been on heavy rotation in the past few months: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASqC809WaHs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASqC809WaHs