Trusted Friends Fast Food Nation: Chapter 2

¶ … Trusted Friends

Fast Food Nation: Chapter 2 review "Your trusted friends" (31-59)

One of the most striking aspects of McDonald's is the way in which it markets itself as a 'friendly' organization committed to family values, even while it sells food that is blatantly unhealthy and damaging to consumers' health. The Happy Meals it promotes to children have an innocent quality, even while the food is carefully engineered so that it is full of sugar and salt, and designed to 'hook' children at an early age.

According to Chapter 2 of his famous nonfiction book Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser does respect certain aspects of the Ray Kroc legacy. As an entrepreneur, Kroc's achievements are impressive. He began with nothing and built an empire just as vast and dominant as Walt Disney's. Kroc was savvy to the impact children could have on a family's consumption habits. Children would 'nag' parents and grandparents to bring them to McDonald's. In the child-focused culture of the 1950s, this was an ideal way to build a business. Commercials, toys, and playgrounds on the store's premises increased the franchise's child-friendly appeal. Kroc understood that how he sold food, particularly to children, was just as important as how the food tasted. The creation of the iconic Ronald McDonald was also created to appeal to children (Schlosser 40).

Kroc's insight about the importance of children and their influence over postwar families' eating habits and his model of serving burgers coincided with important developments in America that also facilitated the popularity of burger chains. More Americans were driving on the rapidly-evolving interstate highway system. McDonald's offered cheap, palatable food to consumers that was less expensive and faster than drive-ins. Americans were more accustomed to eating out more frequently, and McDonald's enabled families to have the 'American dream' of eating out more frequently at a low cost, and gave mothers a 'day off' from home preparation.

The rise of McDonald's initially coincided with the decline in fortunes of the Walt Disney Company. Initially, the wholesome image of the new company, when paired with Ronald McDonald's face had a kind of fresh, slightly ironic and 'trippy' appeal (Schlosser 41). Ronald McDonald's 'land' and 'world,' as depicted in advertisements and in store paraphernalia was viewed as in direct competition with the Walt Disney Company, even though Disney was an entertainment company and McDonald's was a restaurant. The blending of entertainment and food was thus evidenced in McDonald's competition with the toy and cartoon giant. McDonald's was a theme park as well as a food company.

McDonald's was so successful that other companies began to model themselves along its advertising model. Before McDonald's success, only toy, candy, and entertainment companies used the 'nag factor' or 'pester power' to encourage children to persuade their parents to buy different products (Schlosser 43). Now, even companies like telephone companies, beer, and sneaker companies cater to children and most major advertising companies have special divisions that focus just on children.

The consequences of McDonald's advertising to children have negative consequences for the health of children and families that cater to children's dietary preferences and how it turns children into hyper-consumers. Children are obsessed with buying things, from food to toys, partially as a result of advertiser's cradle-to-grave efforts. And there is clear evidence that children are affected by advertising, more so than adults. Advertising to children increased the sales of Burger King's version of 'Happy Meals' as much as 300% (Schlosser 45).

Although television advertising remains the most powerful way to connect to children as consumers, the Internet has offered a new array of tools for advertisers like McDonald's to interface with children. Internet advertising, disguised as games, interaction, or 'information,' often does not even feel like advertising. Children can email Ronald McDonald like he is a real person, play games on the McDonald's website, and become involved in the online world of McDonald's even when they are not eating the food.

To remedy the pervasiveness of advertising and to protect a vulnerable population from advertisers, Schlosser supports consumer watchdog groups that advocate bans on advertising directed towards children. However, this would not affect television programming that effectively acts as advertising. McDonald's, Burger King, and other fast food companies often have tie-ins promotions with children's cartoons and movies. This acts as a form of advertising, even though it is not labeled as such. Nor does this eliminate the problem of playgrounds and child-friendly setups within fast food companies.