McDonald's marketing strategy to counter unhealthy food perception

Marketing Conference: Idea and Proposal

One problem faced by the current fast food industry, but by McDonald's in particular, is that the fast food purveyor is perceived as marketing an unhealthy product that is harmful to consumers. It is in the industry's interest to encourage people to eat more of its product, which is largely high-calorie and low in essential fruits, vegetables, and grains, all at the base of the FDA food pyramid. Also, to live a healthy lifestyle Americans, as a whole, must weigh less, and thus eat less calorie-dense food, as well as exercise. The popularity of such films as "Supersize Me," have only contributed to the decline of McDonald's stock, and created a rejection of its formerly family-friendly image. (Bauman, 2005)

However, one woman recently lost 37 pounds on a McDonald's diet, just as Morgan Spurlock, the director of "Supersize Me," gained weight and lost overall bodily fitness on the diet. The real-life examples of these two individuals show that they simply made different choices at the same establishment. Bauman's selection of "a combo consisting of a quarter-pounder, side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and large unsweetened iced tea," with less than 500 calories and roughly 20 grams of fat," stands in stark contrast to Spurock's choices. (Bauman, 200%)Thus, merely eating at a McDonald's will not cause a decline in health. One excellent idea, if the McDonald's company wishes to improve its image in the future, might be to recruit Merab Morgan, an ordinary housewife, to be the new spokeswoman for McDonald's, and to market her McDonald's diet in a series of commercials. Taking the McDonald's weight loss challenge could be one way to counteract the perception that McDonald's is not inherently unhealthy.