Summary
McDonalds has spent years under controversy for its contributions to the obesity epidemic in the U.S., but now the company is seeking to shed that image.
Original source:
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050731/REPOSITORY/507310351/1003/BUSINESS
Details
W hen Ronald McDonald appeared in a new TV ad in June, outfitted in a sporty version of his trademark yellow suit, snowboarding and skateboarding, even juggling fruit, the popular icon for the fast-food giant seemed to be having something of an identity crisis.
Nearly every aspect of the company's new marketing strategy centers on health.
Customers can now substitute bottled water and apple slices for soft drinks and fries or skip the bun and get a lettuce-wrapped burger.
McDonald's campaign signals a major shift in marketing that, if successful, could help redefine fast food.
If this global behemoth can effectively sell consumers on its healthier menu, competing chains such as Burger King and Carl's Jr.
Just last weekend, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services held a two-day forum to look at childhood obesity and the effect of fast-food marketing on kids.
The challenge is to convince the public that McDonald's, which a half-century ago pioneered the quick-serve genre commonly derided as "junk food," is now the place to go for good nutrition.
McDonald's says that it has boosted business by nearly 2 million customers a day since 2002 and that worldwide sales in restaurants open at least one year jumped 6.9 percent last year.
Salads were introduced in 1986 and, in the 1990s, the company launched a nutritional campaign for children and added a nutrition section to its Web site.
For 50 years, McDonald's has primarily counted on burgers and fries to drive its revenue and fuel its expansion to 119 countries.
Although Americans have long had a love-hate relationship with fast
food, growing concerns over health issues now pose a seemingly larger threat to the chain's strategy.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In mid 2010, Adams produced TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted technology pioneer and founded a software company in 1993 that developed the HTML email newsletter software currently powering the NaturalNews subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening.
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Saturday, August 06, 2005
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