mcdonalds

A Concise Anthology of Deadly Advertising Slogans

Marketing has been with us in one guise or another for over two thousand years. In fact, it’s often reckoned to be the world’s eighth oldest profession. (Some wags have commented on its remarkable resemblance to the thirteenth oldest; research marketing. That’s a fair point.) But for all that it has done for the betterment of mankind, there remain those who look upon this profession with distain.

For proof, look no further than the books of Naomi Klein, the comedy of Bill Hicks, the paranoid ramblings of Thom Yorke or any of the host of other more up-to-date pop culture references I will no doubt have come up by the time this article goes to print… Read the rest of this article here.

When people hear I’m going to work in McDonalds they react with a mixture of bafflement and horror.

The fast-food multinational has been blamed for everything from rising obesity rates and Third World exploitation, to Morgan Spurlock’s diminished sex drive. On my first day, I burst through the front doors half an hour late, the fragrant scent of Eau de Budweiser wafting in my wake.Read the rest of this article.

A CONCISE ANTHOLOGY OF DEADLY ADVERTISING SLOGANS

Marketing has been with us in one guise or another for over two thousand years. In fact, it’s often reckoned to be the world’s eighth oldest profession. (Some wags have commented on its remarkable resemblance to the thirteenth oldest; research marketing. That’s a fair point.) But for all that it has done for the betterment of mankind, there remain those who look upon this profession with distain.

For proof, look no further than the books of Naomi Klein, the comedy of Bill Hicks, the paranoid ramblings of Thom Yorke or any of the host of other more up-to-date pop culture references I will no doubt have come up by the time this article goes to print… Read the rest of this article here.

ALL MCWORK AND LOW PAY?

WHEN PEOPLE HEAR that I’ve volunteered to work for a day in McDonald’s, they react with a mixture of bafflement and horror. And who can blame them? In the popular imagination at least, the fast-food multinational has been blamed for everything from rising obesity rates, to Third World exploitation, to Morgan Spurlock’s diminished sex drive.Read the rest of this article here.

Published: Irish Times, October 18, 2008

THE TAYTO YEARS

This week, I’ve been inveigled into writing on the topic ‘Food Memories of the 1980s’. It’s kind of a tall order, given that I was only a small boy during that decade. It was all a blur of penny sweets and Subbuteo as far as I can recall .

Go on, they said. There must be a few special Eighties food memories that stick out… Well, there was that time Duran Duran dropped by my house and we ate Rice Krispie Buns and played Space Invaders together.

Really, they gasped? No, of course not, you idiots. Read the rest of this entry »

Published: Irish Times, April 19 2008

ALL MCWORK AND LOW PAY?

WHEN PEOPLE HEAR I’m working in McDonald’s, they react with a mixture of bafflement and horror. And who can blame them? The fast-food multinational has been blamed for everything from rising obesity rates and Third World exploitation, to Morgan Spurlock’s diminished sex drive.

Even the Oxford English Dictionary is taking potshots at the company these days. It defines a “McJob” as an “unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects”, while, bizarrely, McDonald’s itself runs television ads that depict its employees being routinely ridiculed by their peers. As career moves go, then, the Golden Arches is hardly considered a golden ticket. Read the rest of this entry »