International marketing: "McDonald's and Obesity"

Résumé du document

Around one million people in the world are affected by the scourge of obesity in the world. This figure is twice more than the rate at which it was 10 years ago and many doctors worry that this could further increase. Many attribute this rise in weight to the massive presence of fast foods in the streets and the proliferation of advertising. Among the several brands that come under the scanner, McDonald's is the most accused and the most sued fast food chain by customers.

McDonald's is the world largest chain of fast foods and its restaurants are found in 119 countries, serving almost 47 millions of customers every day. Despite its success all over the world, McDonald's has to face a lot of criticisms which alleged that the chain uses its political influence to increase its profits at the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers.
A documentary realized by Morgan Spurlock in 2004 exposed the failures of McDonald's to provide nutritional information about its food for its customers and accused McDonald's of contributing to obesity in the world.

However, we need to analyze the real situation. Can we really attribute the entire fault to the fast food? Aren't the parents also to be blamed for their lack of vigilance when it comes to feeding their children? Is Ronald McDonald, the mascot of the brand, a mentor of fat food for children? Should McDonald's change its marketing policy? And if so how? These are some of the pertinent questions doing the rounds with regard to obesity and fast foods.

We will examine the importance of the role of Ronald McDonald in the advertising and its influence on children. Later, we will study the problems faced by McDonald with regard to the obesity and finally we will try to elaborate some short and long-range plans for McDonald to implement.

Extraits

[...] It's important to notice that in McDonald's; we can find healthy meals anyway. The only problem which exists is the price. Indeed, the salads are much more expensive than the other fat meals with a difference of almost three dollars, which is quite a lot of money. People are going to McDonalds because it's fast and cheaper; that's why many of the customers are still eating burgers. Inform customers about nutrition McDonald's offers nutritional information on its products and some ways to understand it. [...]

[...] In May 1997, the Federal Trade Commission communicated to RJ Reynolds to discontinue the campaign, which was done six months later. Does this mean that we have to eliminate Ronald McDonald also from children's ads? Smoking and obesity are two of the most important global health risk factors; Diseases resulted by smoking kill an average of 10 adults globally and cause 4 million deaths; and the life expectancy of an obese person could be shortened by 2 to 5 years. Teenagers are heavily influenced by tobacco advertising as well as the fast food ads. [...]

[...] It would be advisable to replicate this model to the rest of the world as well. The role played by McDonald's to fight against obesity has been quite successful. Their current attitude towards rising obesity is honest: they made some big efforts and made their best possible means to offer to their customers a various range of products. Thus, it is not fair to accuse McDonald's of promoting an obese lifestyle. Indeed, going to McDonald's is like eating a chocolate; everybody knows that's not good for us and our health but we consume it anyway. [...]

[...] They pay more attention to what they consume and the ambience as well. As an example, we can illustrate with the new McDonald's restaurant in Paris, which was revamped last spring and now includes a series of innovative equipments for the protection of the environment and a new decor that is eye catching. On display are some traces of scenery, photos, panels and educational exhibits that are intended to educate customers of McDonald's about major environmental issues and of the initiatives undertaken by the company in France. [...]

[...] This show emphasizes the importance of physical activity in everyday life and was developed in collaboration with the American Academy of Paediatrics. This is the most important collaboration of McDonald for promoting the physical activity. Besides, McDonald's supports sport, and is actively participating in international competitions. The company is a sponsor for lot a sports events such as football and tennis. As children are influenced by athletes like David Beckham and Michael Jordan, as they need to find a paternal figure to look up to as a role model. [...]