Snack Time
September 11, 2006 – 4:23 pmby Dave Klecha
Have you seen those McDonald’s commercials? The ones for their latest snack food?
Some smug dude sits in a chair and notes the time by the various freaked out reactions of his co-workers: one gives herself a new paintjob on her fingernails with correction fluid, another munches on his tie, and the third runs through the cubicle maze, swatting at invisble killer bees. Once they finish telling you all about this wicked cool new snack, which my wife says is about the size of a McNugget on steroids, the smug dude walks past the girl redoing her nails and compliments them. The girl herself looks satisfied.
Now, are we seriously buying the premise of this commercial?
Modern, American office workers are so malnourished and underfed that by 3 in the afternoon, just a couple hours after lunch, they begin to hallucinate, and otherwise experience really poor judgement, from the lack of food. And, naturally, only McDonald’s can remedy that situation.
I’m not going to begrudge them their quest to make a buck, of course, and otherwise McDonald’s seems to be on a healthier, rather than unhealthier trend, as far as they can go with that and still be McDonald’s. But this is one of those problems with the consumer, commercial culture that will get people into trouble with their health and weight. In order for McDonald’s to continue to expand, and continue to increase their bottom line, they’ve got to offer something new for the consumer on a fairly regular basis.
And when they do trot out something new, they either have to replace something old, or create a new market for their new product. And, thus, a new food for a new “meal,” the snack. Taco Bell’s actually done the same thing with their “Fourth Meal” thing, inventing a need for food where no need used to exist, just to move more product. And getting caught up in this, and consumerism in general, is a good way to get unhealthy on a steady diet of the fast food that the commercials say we all need, just like the deluded people in the McDonald’s commercial.
3 Responses to “Snack Time”
I wondered the same thing when I saw these commercials. I don’t think I know ANYONE who is so “malnourished” at 2:30 that they hallucinate and make stupid decisions. The fast food industry tries to convince people that they are hungrier than they really are. I’m guessing that snack thing probably has about 250-300 calories (maybe it’s less, I dunno). Why not just eat a yogurt in the afternoon? That’ll probably keep you happier, healthier, and in the long run…thinner!
By Spectra on Sep 12, 2006
I like the way that kids portrayed in these commercials are always thin and active looking, when in fact that is the last product they are promoting.
Marketing has got to be getting trickier every day..
By Heather on Sep 12, 2006
I think anyone who talks about McDonald’s and healthy eating in the same sentence would benefit greatly from watching a film called “Supersize Me.”
By Liara Covert on Feb 27, 2007