This paper presents a marketing strategy proposal for McDonald's designed to counter the reputational and sales damage caused by Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Supersize Me." Drawing on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, integrated marketing communications theory, and real-world competitor analysis, the paper argues that McDonald's can reposition itself around portion control and health-conscious messaging. The strategy centers on Merab Morgan, a housewife who lost 37 pounds eating at McDonald's, as a grass-roots brand ambassador. The plan addresses pricing shifts from single-visit volume to return-visit value, product policy revisions, distribution continuity, and customer relationship management — all aimed at reclaiming market share from Wendy's, Burger King, and Subway.
The paper applies the marketing mix framework (product, price, promotion, distribution) systematically, treating each element as a distinct section while ensuring all elements reinforce a single unified value proposition. This structured decomposition of a marketing plan mirrors professional strategic planning documents and shows how academic frameworks can be used prescriptively rather than merely descriptively.
The paper opens with a problem statement and mission, moves through customer and competitor analysis, then proposes specific product, pricing, communications, and distribution changes in sequence. It closes with customer relationship management considerations. This mirrors a standard marketing plan structure — situation analysis, target identification, strategy formulation, tactical execution — making it a useful model for students learning to write applied business papers.
Although McDonald's advertising slogan, as proclaimed on its 2005 website, is "I'm lovin' it" (McDonald's Official Website, 2005), shareholders in the fast food company were not equally enamored of its stock performance and plummeting sales (The Rogue Investor, 2005). The objectives of a new McDonald's marketing campaign must therefore undo some of the economic and public relations damage caused by the negative press generated by the success of Morgan Spurlock's documentary film Supersize Me. Over the course of the year, McDonald's aims to gain a greater percentage of fast food market revenue than its most prominent burger-oriented competitors, Wendy's and Burger King. McDonald's also wishes to earn the kind of positive media attention generated by the sandwich chain Subway. The "Subway Diet" has become a buzzword for the ability to lose weight by eating moderate portions of healthy fast food. Yet McDonald's has been the target of a flood of lawsuits blaming the fast food giant for the nation's widespread obesity (News Target, 2004).
McDonald's attempted to combat the negative publicity from Spurlock's film by eliminating its "Super Sized" menu. This public relations shift was problematic: it appeared as though the company was offering less food for the same price — and therefore less value — to consumers who came to McDonald's for an inexpensive and familiar meal. Furthermore, the decision to de-supersize in the wake of Supersize Me seemed calculated rather than genuinely concerned with consumer health.
In contrast to these public relations maneuvers, one woman — Merab Morgan, an ordinary housewife — lost thirty-seven pounds on a self-designed McDonald's diet entirely of her own free will, just as Morgan Spurlock gained weight and lost overall fitness on his 4,000-calorie-a-day, high-fat diet. Morgan's motivation was personal health and taste, not a desire to help McDonald's or produce a film. A new marketing campaign that adopts this ordinary woman's real accomplishment can demonstrate that simply by making different choices at the same establishment, a consumer can achieve different fitness goals — something equally true of a grocery store or an inexpensive fast food restaurant. Morgan's typical meal — "a combo consisting of a Quarter Pounder, side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and large unsweetened iced tea," totaling less than 500 calories and roughly 20 grams of fat — stands in stark contrast to Spurlock's choices (Bauman, 2005).
The new Mission Statement for McDonald's is simple: eat right, eat well at McDonald's. The measurable short-term success of the campaign can be tracked through participation in promotional games in which consumers answer nutritional questions about McDonald's foods and other dietary topics in return for winning free food on their next visit.
A consumer need — indeed, a fundamental human need — is defined as "a state of felt deprivation in a person" (Kotler, Chandler, Gibbs, & McColl, 1999, p. 4). The most basic human needs are for food, clothing, warmth, and safety. Less physically oriented needs may be classified as psychological, such as the need to feel loved or successful, or social, such as the need for a sense of belonging. By addressing a wide array of consumer needs, a more effective marketing campaign can be deployed.
McDonald's current campaign, which stresses that consumers are simply "loving" its food, addresses only the need for sustenance — a need positioned low on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Maslow's pyramid orders needs from lowest to highest: physiological, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization (Daft, 1997, p. 530). The desire to lose weight, by contrast, touches upon the safety need in the form of health concerns, as well as belongingness through cultivating a more attractive appearance. It also reinforces belongingness by encouraging consumers to visit the restaurant more frequently — socializing with friends and participating in McDonald's atmosphere — and validates personal esteem through the act of making positive health choices. Successfully reaching a weight-loss goal even advances self-actualization. Merab Morgan's image as an ordinary suburban housewife affirms both the realistic nature of the goal and its life-changing potential.
McDonald's is not the only fast food company competing for consumers. The new campaign must account for the external and social influences created by competitors such as Wendy's and Burger King (Perreault & McCarthy, 2000, p. 123). Burger King has recently disregarded conventional industry wisdom by deploying increasingly large burgers and menu items, such as its new omelet sandwich (Burger King Official Website, 2005). Wendy's has attempted to expand its image beyond a "burger joint" by offering fruit and salads, thereby blurring its identity with that of Subway, a non-burger competitor.
McDonald's new campaign allows it to retain its identity as a fun place to enjoy hamburgers — but in a healthier way. This positioning avoids the excesses of Burger King, which simply promises consumers it will do things "their way" regardless of whether those choices are detrimental to their health. It also avoids the image-diluting strategy of Wendy's, which encroaches on the sandwich market while still maintaining burgers as its core product — a risky prescription for McDonald's, a company whose brand is synonymous with the Golden Arches, French fries, and the Hamburglar (McDonald's Official Website, 2005).
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