Posted 12:47 PM by Gene

I argue that McDonald's nosedive happened because it advertises excessively on television and has turned its franchises into commercials. People had long been accustomed to the bad food, the dirty floors, the surly help; but when they walked into the restaurants they were increasingly bombarded with promos -- promos for Batman (a tremendous embarrassment), promos for the Olympics, promos for The Flintstones, promos for Jurassic Park, then the big Disney deal which meant promos for Disney films, promos for the Disney Network, promos for. . . . When they got home they were bombarded with ads that insulted their intelligence. Meanwhile the food stayed bad, the floors stayed dirty, the help stayed surly. So what must normal folk think? That McDonald's is in business to finance junk television -- and rotten movies. That and its senior executives have a terminal case of Chevy Chase syndrome. Sales increases turned into sales declines. Then the big sweepstakes scam came along. This was a body blow because the sweepstakes anchored so much of the TV advertising and the promo activity. Then people found they had alternatives that offered better food. Now Mickey D's is closing 719 restaurants and is cutting back on its expansion plans. Good for them.

Jim Cantalupo: Remember Howard Johnson's?

P. S. To those who say it's solely the food, I say Burger King (whose burgers are marginally better -- very marginally) has also relied heavily on promos -- and it's in worse shape than McDonald's. Diageo just sold it off at close to a fire-sale price.