So, what are thoughts that are running through your minds right now if I were to tell you, the title of the clip shown above is called “New McDonald's Commercial 2009”? Would you think that it is just a prank by someone or would you think that it is really a commercial by McDonalds' itself? Regardless of which it is, it does not matter at all as that is not the focus of this entry.What would you think when the name “McDonald's” comes up to you? Did you think of the “good and tasty burgers”? Or, did the words “unhealthy” and other negative words pop into your mind?
As McDonalds is not an unfamiliar name to us, we all know deep within that the food there are in fact unhealthy and harmful to our bodies. However, do we still consume the food there? The answer is, yes!
As quoted by Seiler & Beall, “Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information in order to give personal meaning to the communication we receive.”. And from it, it is clear to see that though the food at McDonalds has always been said to be harmful to a person's body, it does not stop you and me from consuming it. Agree? That is because, each of us chooses to ignore the message that “the food at Mcdonalds are harmful to our body” either consciously or subconsciously through the process of “Selection” which is defined as “how we attend to or select information in our environment for processing consciously or otherwise.”
In the short clip above, the interactive model is present where there is a communication between the sender and receiver to-and-fro the message channel(the internet) and feedback(the people who commented on the clip) are shown.
Noticed it? The short clip also uses pathos as a mean of persuasion. How it did it? It uses characters such as young children to appeal to parents who are concerned about their child being obese. And later on, it also featured McDonald himself carrying a bomb which signifies danger. Photos of obese women were also placed into it, raising our awareness (especially the females who are constantly aware of the way they look.) to how we might possibly look like if we were to consume too much of McDonalds.
Lastly, for my personal opinion, I would say that this clip makes me more aware of the food that I will consume at any fast food chains the next time round. This is because, I do not weight! Haha. Oh well, who does anyway? But, nonetheless, I would not stop myself from having McDonalds as like I always say, “food is life” and “life is food”. Wouldn't life be miserable if one refrains him or herself from having the food that he or she is craving for?
*ps: Alright, I know this isn't exactly a good entry or anything near it. But, I'll try to make better entries the next time round. Happy Chinese New Year in advance to all! :)
Hmm, McDonalds has always been an irony to me...They emphasize on eating healthy yet they're selling burgers. But like you said, many of us still have McDonalds because we want to! Maybe we will have meals there less frequently because of all the health warnings going on, but ultimately we can't deny McDonald's leagendary fast food impact. I guess people filter out the things they don't like, and mostly absorb the stuff they want to hear. Its like mothers' naggings really...you hear what they're talking about but you're not really listening. Haha, nice post there!
ReplyDeleteDespite serving very unhealthy food, McDonalds is one of the most successful fast food chain. Although people know about the effects of having too much fast food, they still choose to consume them regularly. Most people do so because they taste good, and are convenient. As what you have said, I agree that people have a choice to choose what they eat but in this case, taste and convenience have been people's priority in eating, instead of choosing the healthier choice.
ReplyDelete"McDonald's owns over 31,000 chain restaurants in 118 countries throughout the world." I believe the main reason people buy Mcdonald because they located almost everywhere and it is a fastfood restaurant. Living in US, I observe Americans value their time wisely. This is the reason why they would just drivethrough to get their burgers and be on time for their work rather than wait-in-line for their healthy food and be late for work. I am sure most people are aware of the dangers by consuming these fastfood. However, these food are the most convenient when you have to go to college and work at the same time thus neglecting the harms it could do to our body. The fact is that fastfood never serve healthy food. I believe if Mcdonald serve healthy food, people will still buy it mainly because of their efficiency.
ReplyDeleteMany say that one of the first symbols a baby recognizes in modern times will be the golden arches of McDonald's. I have to agree (experienced such a phenomenon before, and of course, the baby's not me nor mine :) ).
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the food in McDonald's is good...to me anyway, and I don't find it to be very contradictory that they are promoting healthy eating while selling...junk food. The matter of health lies in the consumers, not the distributors. It's not like McDonald's forcing everyone at knife-point to eat their stuff, right? (Then again, plastic knives don't really cut well...)
But again, the sheer amount of McDonald's outlets everywhere makes it here for people to resist the temptation.
Take a young schoolboy for example. Everyone knows how games can be addictive, even the schoolboy. But yet he continues to play despite of the need to concentrate on his schoolwork. Of course, the parents will start scolding. Ever realize that the parents scold the boy instead of like, dismantling the game console? It's like what Micheal Royce has pointed out, the priorities of people affect what is right or wrong for themselves.
I always felt that McDonalds is considered as the most preferred fast food restaurant for Singaporeans. It is rather ironic as many people talk about eating healthy frequently these days. However, they still consume fast food which is oily and unhealthy. It is true that the taste of the food in McDonalds is irresistible but McDonalds should be taken less often. As what you had mentioned earlier, I agree that people have their own freedom in choosing what they like to eat. But I think that the taste of McDonalds had forgone the decision of eating healthily.
ReplyDelete"I'm Loving it" i'm sure this slogan is stuck in each and every brain,
ReplyDeletewhere do ou celebrate after every exam?
where do you have breakfast with your parents when u'r young?
where do you study?
where do you hang out 3am in the morning?
where's the best place to hang out after school?
So what if the no. of calories each and every meal has is stated so clearly on the paper placed on the tray. Fast food is like a drug, so addictive that many a times, people cant resist, or rather, they dont want to in the first place. In the clip, it has showed so many negative effects of eating fast food but i'm sure there would be many who will forget about it in the shortest time possible, or even, eat a MacDonald meal while watching the clip, but still, enjoy it. The continue expansion and success of MacDonald has definitely prove that people choose to enjoy what they eat rather than caring too much about the healthiness.
Interesting post about MacDonald's. (:
ReplyDeleteThis commercial comes to my mind that MacDonald is declaring their food are unhealthy. It will be quite a knotty problem for MacDonald if it is trying to advertise their food to looks more appealing but the images of obese children, women, customers will definitely finds it a nightmare.:/
But on the upside, MacDonald's may be trying to promote societal responsibility in frankly reminding the consumers that their food are unhealthy and for their welfare and it is best for them have to have MacDonald's meals sparingly.
The advertisement keep emphasizing on the words "you are the world" prolly refers to the customers that they are important to MacDonald's that is why they are doing this commercial for them, which may be a form of reverse psychology.
It is really fresh and interesting commercial idea of McDonald's. Thumbs up! :D
I'm thinking That McDonald's is a place to visit occasionaly to satisfy your tastebuds,im saying this because i like McDonald's. But, although its nice, it is also unhealthy, many prople go there to consume food maybe because of the fast and convienient services they offer even when many people knows that the food they serve there is unhealthy.
ReplyDeleteI honestly feel that the people who are eating Macdonald's every single day should be the ones questioning and putting the blame on themselves. Too much of a single thing, no matter how good it is or supposed to be, is going to be bad for you. Same goes for Macdonald's.
ReplyDeleteI love Macdonald's and I know for sure that if I overeat it's going to be bad for me, and so I choose not to. On my part, I believe that Macdonald's have already done its part to try to make their food as healthy as possible, but any healthier they might as well sell vegetable-only burgers or something. The consumers themselves should do some reflecting and stop putting the blame on Macdonald's. My personal opinion though.