Take a look at this photo and pretend for one second that you wouldn't want to sink your teeth into the luscious beef sandwich or plunge a straw deep into the pillar of sweet Coke, simultaneously refreshing and
satisfying yourself in a frenzy of gluttonous consumption. If the mere image of the fast food meal makes you lick your chops, then the corporation is doing its job. Over the life time of fast food restaurant chains, corporations such as McDonald's have carved their way into our minds (and stomachs) as identifiable suppliers of our craved food-stuffs and guaranteed satisfaction. As you can see by the represented image, the meal is projected as a monolithic highway to a consumer's gratification. The burger appears to contain the potential to feed an entire family, the Coke could quench the thirst of a camel, and there are a lot of fries...
I find simple fast food advertisements such as this to be very interesting, as they give keen insights to our culture and psyche. The basic fact that thousands of fast food restaurants exist is a signifier of our nation's fixation with large quantities of food. One might say that bigger is better. The advertisements blatantly argue that if you're going to eat out, you may as well eat big. In addition to their pursuit in our consumption, a few chain restaurants attempt to conjure a representation of themselves with ties to athletics. Take for instance, the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdhWIs76K80
The video suggests that Olympic athletes consume McDonald's on a regular basis, which, in most cases, couldn't be farther from the truth (I hope).
In conclusion, fast food eateries are manipulating our culture to favor their profitable existence. So the next time your stomach growls at the T.V, try to think about the effects fast food advertisements have had on our society.
Whenever I see ads like this it really makes me want fast food! And it is really all over our society. It's on billboards, TV, magazines, and everything else. Our culture revolves around this type of food. It represents America so well. This was a great pick for an image! The video you linked on to here is also comical because of how many athletes they got to endorse McDonald's. People idolize celebrities and athletes, so the fact they use them to just advertise this product also represents our culture since they are a huge part of our society.
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