I’m wondering what you all have to think about this.
Click on the “365black” topic which celebrates “diversity.”
Then remind yourselves that this is a resturant whose objective is to simply sell food.
That’s not true. They have a lot of objectives, like many businesses, all which relate some way back to making a lot of money.
You misunderstand me, but it’s my fault. What I’m saying is that in theory, all they are is a resturant. And a resturant’s objective is supposed to be to simply sell food. Why do they need this “campaign?” At whom is it aimed? And why?
I know they’re a business and an evil one at that, but I wanted to be objective in my initial posting. I think that everything on that site is a smokescreen to distract people from the truth that they sell crap food that can make people sick and make at least a 300% profit on it.
That same opinion can be voiced against any restaurant. Not sure why this point is made specifically against McDonalds - I don’t think less of them than I would any other fast food restaurant.
Did you even go to the MD’s website that I linked??? This isn’t about health issues, but an evil empire.
It is a promotional campaign aimed at black Americans thinly disguised as ‘doing something for the community.’
McDonalds have been trying to change its image in Japan after suffering losses here.
They have been pushing salads in commercials to promote a healthier McGonads. I think they would be better off sticking to selling cheap crud.
BTW McFries are indestructible. Resistance is futile.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=G6qGKNwdeCQ
Mukade
So you object to an “evil empire” promoting/sponsoring/giving to charity? Wow, it takes all kinds…
Exactly that. Why is it good marketing? Because statistically, a big a growing chunk of their market is going to be black American communities which have not been as caught up in the various health-craze (read anti-McD’s) agendas. (and here I risk veering into TEH Board territory…please keep in mind that this is not intended as a blanket statement–it just reflects trends I’ve observed, possibly erroneously.)
OTOH, it’s not a bad thing to celebrate achievement, and promote self-esteem, even if there’s an ulterior motive to it.
I’m editing myself, because I had not examined all the links under 365black. Evidently people of Asian or Hispanic ancestry get their own special segregated link-sites as well. Weird. Euro-types must content themselves with the Moms/kids link which gives them 25% representation.
I think I prefer the Disney films method of just throwing everybody together in one big family regardless of ethnicity.
I haven’t been involved for over 35 years, but I knew kids when we were teenagers who worked at MickyD’s, and I got a taste of what was going on inside at that time. There was a whole “culture” notion in effect, where people were encouraged to hang out at the restaurant, even when they weren’t working. This was especially important for management trainees, if they wanted to remain employed.
The idea was to build “team spirit” and comradery to improve the general efficiency of the workforce. Part of the job of the managers was to put on employee parties, encourage glee club-like contests in the employee’s lunch room, etc. A real special treat was to take a carload of top-rated employees to McD’s headquarters in Toronto on a field trip. The intention was to dazzle them with a wonderful honour. Managers were lead on with tales of how they could work themselves up through the ranks to someday actually be able to get a job there in the headquarters offices. Gosh!
- OR - they could go to school, get an education and get a real job, but that wasn’t encouraged so much …
djm
My life was so different. I went to work for the FBI where we were encouraged to rat on each other for any infraction, give lists of names of employees who attended “wild” parties or spoke disparagingly about Jedgar Hoover and the Bureau. Maybe it’s different today.
Susan
I worked at McDonalds before joining the Navy. I never encountered this attitude. Granted, this was before Gulf War I.
I was friends with some of the people who worked there, but that’s because we went to school together. We never hung out at mcDonalds, nor were we encouraged to.
I like McDonalds. I have no interest on clicking on the link after reading some of the comments. I will continue to eat at McDonalds on occasion, and would recommend it to others.
Maybe they want to sell food to minorities.
We can’t be having that. I ask for a boycott of McDonalds.
Lots of companies engage in marketing campaigns like that. Oil companies have campaigns to show how they care about the environment. Wal-mart campaigns tout all the good they do for poor communities. You can bet that any campaign not directly related to what the company actually produces is a big fat lie intended to combat a truth.
Here’s a small bit of their charitable work. One can take it
as proof of how evil they really are, if one chooses. This isn’t
meant to hurt their image, of course; still maybe it isn’t against
the rules to consider the possibility that some of this stuff
is well meant.
Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Program: Bringing Care Where It’s Needed Most
This year, hundreds of thousands of children will go without immunizations and routine physical exams. Pregnant teens will go without the prenatal care they need. And every day, asthma and minor health problems will go undiagnosed until they become acute --when they will be more difficult and more expensive to treat.
RMHC is working to change this. In an effort to provide access to health care for underserved children, Ronald McDonald House Charities has created the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program.
Through relationships with local healthcare providers, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program brings cost effective, high-quality medical, dental and health education services directly to underserved children in both rural and urban areas around the world.
The program helps reduce reliance on expensive and inappropriate health resources, such as hospital emergency departments, and it provides continuity of care by providing follow-up services and referrals to a primary care physician, dentist or pediatric subspecialist. The program also helps eligible families enroll in federally-assisted health insurance programs such as “Insure Kids Now.”
Important Facts
- All services are provided in a 40-foot, 26,000 pound, state-of-the-art vehicles built specifically for delivering pediatric healthcare services.
- Each vehicle includes two patient examination rooms, a laboratory, reception and medical records areas.
- Depending on specific community needs, services may include:
- Primary care
- Well-child visits
- Developmental screening
- Immunizations
- Diagnosis and treatment of chronic disease
- Preventive, diagnostic and restorative dental care
- Hygiene and health education
- Asthma prevention and treatment
- Pulmonary function testing
- School and sports physicals
- Prenatal care for pregnant teens
- Injury prevention education
- Nutrition counseling
- Mental health services and other pediatric specialty services, such as cardiology and ENT
- Blood collection
Currently, there are 29 Care Mobile programs operating in Argentina, Poland and the United States with additional programs launching in El Salvador and Odessa, TX, before the end of 2006.
The results of the Worcester, Mass., Ronald McDonald Care Mobile’s first year in operation indicates the program’s tremendous impact:
- In one year, the Worcester Ronald McDonald Care Mobile saw 1,567 patients; 48 percent of patients did not have a current or primary care doctor and 37 percent would not have received care or did not know where to go for care.
- Fifty-one percent of Worcester Ronald McDonald Care Mobile patients visited the program’s dentist; 44 percent of those patients hadn’t been to a dentist in more than two years or had never been.
- Forty-nine percent of patients required medical attention other than well-being exams and preventative visits. Half of those patients were acutely sick and 14 percent of patients would have gone to the emergency room for care because they didn’t have anywhere else to go.
For more information about the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program, call 630-623-7048.
MANY large corporations try to be “good citizens”, whether it be as part of an organization such as United Way, or giving directly to charitable causes, or sponsoring events that work for charities. Sure the bottom line IS profit, but I hardly find it distasteful that a company also does good work in a community.
Many also have adds targeting specific segments of population. It may be by ethnicity, but it may also be by age, gender, etc. You aren’t going to target a product that’s made for seniors with commercials aimed at 20 somethings. Hair products are almost always ethnically marketed, because hair is different in textures, need for cleaning frequency, etc., by ethnicity.
Did you know that many companies that have “private” jets are part of a program for organ donation flights? Once they file their flight plans, hospitals, etc. have access to those in case they need an organ flown to another city.
It’s hardly a big conspiracy.
Maccas does some really good work in Australia. Theres the Ronald Mcdonald house for the families of sick kids who can’t receive necessary care close to home, and tutoring programs to help those same kids catch up at school after falling months or years behind their classmates.
This doesn’t mean I actually eat their food. 
Based on Bill’s recommendation, I think I’ll try a McDonald’s some time. Do they serve Scottish food as the name suggests? There is an appaling lack of places where you can order Haggis right off the menu.
Thanks for the tip, Bill!
Not to mention their excellent mcneeps & mctatties. Wash it all down with a good swig of McGlenlivet.