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April 18, 2005
Happy McBirthday
“A BigMac contains 3.5 grams of onion and two pickles. It has spread throughout 119 countries, because it also tastes like freedom. It has survived both anti-Americanism and health fetishism”, writes Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende in celebration of McDonald's 50th Anniversary on April 15th.
Apart from Santa Claus, Ronald McDonald is actually the figure children all over the world are most familiar with. McDonald’s Golden Arches can be identified by more people than the Christian cross. And The Economist uses its well-known BigMac index to compare purchasing power in different countries.
Although a BigMac is a BigMac wherever you go, McDonald’s has won a lot by adapting to local circumstances. In Israel you can get a Kosher Burger, in the Middle East a McArabia Sandwich, and in India a Chicken Maharaja Mac. Professor in International Relations, Joseph Nye, in his book Soft Power describes the important power of influencing others by culture. And McDonald’s image is definitely McSoft Power par excellence. Nye describes to Berlingske Tidende how an Indian couple recently told him that “going into a McDonald’s is like getting a little piece of America”. A bite of a BigMac is a bite of the West, a taste of freedom, democracy, capitalism, and the opportunities waiting around the corner.
McDonald’s has benefited from being the Western symbol of globalization: Each year USians (a name for "Americans" suggested by Galtung) consume 1.5 billion Double Cheese burgers, there are 31,561 restaurants world-wide, the largest market outside the US is Japan with 3,700 restaurants (of course serving Teriyaki burgers), and one of the largest restaurants with room for 700 customers is found in Beijing, China.
No doubt, McDonald’s is one of the most visible commercial symbols of the United States. But even though rising anti-Americanism and skepticism toward globalization has led to a huge amount of broken restaurant windows, McDonald’s has been successful in adapting to local conditions. In France, for example, it is possible to get a Croque McDo. Many remember the French José Bové, who became a national hero by harassing McDonald’s, according to Joseph Nye, but the interesting thing is that this didn’t affect sales. The French kept on eating Ronald’s burgers.
Finally, here are two questions for the blog: Does a McArabia Sandwich contribute to the spread of democracy? And how does the global success and spread of McDonald’s affect perceptions of the United States in the world?
Posted April 18, 2005 12:49 AM
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