Oh for the love of all that is good and holy, can we put this marketing-is-brainwashing thing to rest? People don't go to McDonald's because they saw a clown si

Oh for the love of all that is good and holy, can we put this marketing-is-brainwashing thing to rest? People don't go to McDonald's because they saw a clown singing a jingle on a television. They go because they like the food at that price. They may be more aware of that option than other options due to marketing, but people aren't automatons that just do like television tells them to. That being said, I challenge your assertion. I can buy a double cheeseburger (call it 1/4lb of meat) from McDonald's for $1. This takes me about 5 minutes. Buying organic beef, cheese, and rolls, and then prepping, seasoning, and grilling that burger will take you, give or take, 20 minutes and probably cost you on the order of $2-5 per burger (depending where you live), minus the time needed to get those ingredients. You value time, effort, and knowledge at zero, which is below their actual value. My point is that your argument is fallacious. Learn from what McDonald's puts out and understand why, despite plenty of marketing, Burger King has fallen off a cliff and Wendy's has come charging ahead. McDonald's has a lot of value in terms of a case study, but you dismiss it with that old-programmer-standby, "It's just marketing." I'm sick of seeing that attitude--it quickly dismisses good and interesting business strategies that we can learn from.