How Maccas conned us into thinking Angus beef was specialMichael Pascoe doesn’t mince his words as he explains the Great Burger Con of 2009. Angus beef mince is just like any other beef mince, but fast food companies — and some clever advertising — have us suckers fooled.
McDonald’s
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Maccas really do care about your opinions
McDonald’s do some sly online surveys about which experts you most trust. Plus, a pretty clear sign that MySpace has lost its cachet with online social networkers.
Fast food gets even faster: would you like wifi with that?
McDonald’s has just announced it’s rolling out free wifi across its US stores (even though it’s been available in Australia for months). Will wifi help Maccas take a gulp from the Starbucks cup, or does the dollar menu not make it worth the cost?
McDonald’s Down Under: from Yagoona to 800 golden arches
Simon Canning was there when Australia’s very first McDonald’s in 1971. As the company raises its 800th set of iconic golden arches, he looks back at the brand Australia loves to hate.
Burgers 101: from the Angry Angus to Neil Perry’s $22 Wagyu beef
“Gourmet” burgers are So Hot Right Now — even McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s are getting in on the fad with their Angus beef numbers. But, high-end or not, there’s an art to engineering the perfect burger, says Ed Charles, and it all starts with fat and salt.
Why the Golden Arches got frozen out of Iceland
No more fries with that. Iceland’s economy suffered the GFC worst than most and the collapse of the krona means that importing buns and burgers has become too costly for McDonald’s to keep its stores open.
IPA: What’s wrong with a few Golden Arches in schools?
Australians should welcome the sponsorship of companies like McDonald’s for education programs in our cash-starved schools, says the Institute of Public Affairs’ Carolyn Popp. No-one’s forcing Big Macs down kids’ throats.
50 of the world’s weirdest billboards
A peek into the whacky world of billboard advertising, from fake people ripping foil off giant chocolate wrappers to a McDonalds sundial telling you which item to order.
What’s so special about Angus beef, anyway?
McDonald’s new Angus burgers are flying off the auto-grills. But what makes Angus beef any more “fancy” than the usual minced cow the chain dishes out? Not a whole lot, says Slate.
McDonald’s in the Louvre? Sacré bleu!
McDonald’s is setting up shop at the Louvre, and the French are not lovin’ it. But the gallery claims erecting the Golden Arches outside the home of fine art “is in line with the museum’s image”.
Selling our kids to McDonald’s
McDonald’s has pulled off a huge marketing coups by signing up more than 230,000 NSW students to its maths tutoring program. Dr Rosemary Stanton, Jane Martin and Professor Elizabeth Waters weigh-in on whether the whole scheme undermines the government’s rhetoric on tackling childhood obesity.
How McDonald’s got its ads into public schools — and the government is lovin’ it
Almost half of NSW’s secondary school students are now learning maths from a computer program created by McDonald’s, where tutoring is preceded by ads for the fast food empire. And the government has given it the thumbs up.
Food fight: Subway vs. McDonald’s
The Golden Arches may be synonymous with fast food, but soggy-sandwich chain Subway has just announced it will have more stores around the world than McDonald’s by the end of the year. So why is Maccas still out-earning them? Bigger isn’t always better.
McD’s investors have reason to be McUnhappy
McDonald’s investors must prepare for tepid growth. With consumer spending sluggish, the food giant has had to resort to discounting just to keep growth global sales growth at 2.2%. It’s tough to be the market leader.
How to sell hamburgers: a Maccas masterclass
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you’ve got to hand it to McDonald’s: it sure knows how to get people to buy hamburgers. A look at 40 of Maccas’ cleverest Mc-ad campaigns from around the globe
MasterChef set to be spoiled by sponsors
It was nice while it lasted: the forthcoming series of Celebrity MasterChef Australia will give its sponsors — including McDonald’s, Harvey Norman and Coles — “tailored on-air” integration, meaning more spruiking and less sauteing.
How long do you have to work to buy a Big Mac?
Your pay is only as good as your purchasing power. The Economist compares how long it takes a worker on the average wage in 73 cities to earn the price of a Big Mac at their local McDonald’s. Over two hours in Mexico! Save your pesos for something better, Mexicans.
Strike gold post-recession: buy bullions and fries
The only way for the US economy to survive is to let it work in a Darwinian ‘Survival of the Fittest’, culling non-profitable businesses. The two recession busting fittest stocks? Gold and McDonald’s.
PETA’s Unhappy Meal stunt ruffles feathers
PETA’s latest tasteful PR stunt is all about getting McDonald’s to use more humane methods of slaughtering chickens, by targeting kids with “Unhappy Meals”: including a rubber chicken stained with fake blood and a paper cutout of Ronald McDonald wielding a bloody knife.
How McDonald’s “won” the recession
Before the GFC hit, McDonald’s was suffering from serious image problems, as the corporate face of the obesity crisis and unhealthy, industrialised food. But come the recession, cheap, efficient food has suddenly become a lot more appealing. But will consumers continue lovin’ it when the economy recovers?
The neuroscience of McDonald’s
The most pleasurable thing about eating McDonald’s isn’t the dripping cheese, salty chips or even the discount ice-cream cone: it’s the calories. Jonah Lehrer explains why we’re just hard-wired that way.
Sexy billboards and Maccas misled kids? No!
The Australian Advertising Standards Board has found that McDonald’s misled kids with salad pictures and Advanced Medical Institute billboards are not funny. Amazing.
Stuff Americans like
The American Customer Satisfaction Index tracks how happy ‘merkins are with various industries and businesses throughout the year. Guess which one makes them least happy.
Cheap and nasty: fast food in the recession
Fast food can suddenly look very appetising when your wallet is lean. Fast food companies in the US are spruiking their budget options, but how do they stack up?
