• Creative Design

Non Branded McDonald’s: WTF?

Some facts about food and McDonald’s.

– Every day about 25% of Americans have launch or dinner in the fast food restaurants.
– Every year McDonald’s hires 1 million people.
-В McDonald’s gives job to teenagers.
– Every week an average American eats 3 hamburgers and 4 fries.
– Every eights person working in US was once working in McDonald’s.
– McDonald’s spends more on advertising than any other brand in the world.
– About 96% of American children aged till 6 will recognize Ronald McDonalds. More famous is only Santa.
-В  McDonald’s is a place to bring children. There’s a playground in almost every restaurant.

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Now, the McDonald’s one of the world most famous and popular brands with the largest network of restaurants all over the world. Several days ago McDonald’s opened up non-branded ‘Quarter Pounder’ joint in Japan.

There are no golden arches, no Ronald McDonald, no Big Mac and just a simple two-item menu: Quarter Pounder or a Double Quarter pounder. Quarter Pounder with Cheese Set costs 500 yen (about $5.15) and a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese is 600 yen (about $6.20) but the burgers themselves seem to be smaller.

The “non-branded” brand has a very simple logo and is designed in 2 colors-В  red and black which in no way remind of McDonald’s. The restaurant interior looks stylish enough and repeats same 2 colors.

The question is :Why?

The Quarter PounderВ  (click on the link to visit the official website)В  seems to be a Big Secret.

There was no any type of press release on McDonald’s official website at www.mcdonalds.com and the McDonald’s Search that they have on site gave no results as well ( except for the Quarter Pounder hamburger itself). The Japanese website at www.mcdonalds.co.jp has nothing resembling the new McDonald’s “non branded” brand as well.

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Some say that’s a new marketing course. Word is, curious customers are lining up to get into Quarter Pounder’s stark black & red shops.

Others say that McDonald’s had to introduce new restaurants non branded because of the unhealthiness glory. Since no official info was provided by the company we can only guess. But these are the facts:

– In 1979 Americans were spending about 6 billions on a food a year, in 2001 this figure was over 110 billions. This is more than what’s being spent on education, computers, cars, books video and music taken all together.

– Every day about 25% of Americans have launch or dinner in the fast food restaurant. Obesity is number 2 in the list of diseases that cause death in the US.

– Every year McDonald’s hires 1 million people. They have the lowest salary in the country. They usually don’t spend there over 4 months.

-В  McDonald’s gives job to teenagers. 2/3 of the workers are younger than 20. According to the video files from one of Los Angeles restaurants they sneeze and spit into the food having fun this way. In May of 2000 3 teenagers from “Burger King” in NY were arrested as they were pissing into the food during 8 months they were working in the restaurant.

– Every week an average American eats 3 hamburgers and 4 fries.В  Since 1990 the taste of the fried fries is just the chemical additives. Your shower gel aroma and the taste and smell of the fried fries could have been produced on one chemical plant. Over 700 children caught the infection in 1993 having eat the hamburgers in one of the Seattle fast foods, 6 of them died.

– Every eight person working in US was once working in McDonald’s. They never eat the food they didn’t make themselves.

– McDonald’s spends more on advertising than any other brand in the world. Why?

– About 96% of American children aged till 6 will recognize Ronald McDonalds. More famous is only Santa. Children less than 2 years old drink cola same as their parents do. They eat hamburgers and fried fries. According to the recent studies the food likes and dislikes of a person form in the early childhood.

-В  McDonald’s is a place to bring children. There’s a playground in almost every restaurant.В  Playgrounds bring children, children bring parents ( and grandparents), parents bring money. A simple scheme to make the income 3 times higher.

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We’ll leave it up to you do decide whether this is just a new marketing campaign or the crisis of the McDonald’s brand in progressive countries.В  From 5 new McDonald’s restaurants 4 open outside the US. What to expect next? What will be theВ  new McDonald’s style in USA and will we ever know this is the McDonald’s?