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Why Does McDonald’s Want to Rebrand as a ‘Progressive Burger Company’?
National Review ^ | 6/17/2015 | George Will

Posted on 06/20/2015 1:43:20 PM PDT by RightGeek

In January, McDonald’s, leaning against the winds of fashion, said kale would never replace lettuce on its burgers. In May, however, it said it will test kale in a breakfast meal (breakfast is about 25 percent of McDonald’s sales). Kale might or might not cause construction workers to turn at 6 a.m. into McDonald’s drive-through lines, where approximately two-thirds of McDonald’s customers place their orders.

McDonald’s also says its milk will soon be without artificial growth hormones, and chicken (McDonald’s sells more of it than of beef) will be free of human antibiotics. All these might be good business decisions and as socially responsible as can be. They certainly pertain to McDonald’s new mantra about being a “modern, progressive burger company,” whatever that means.

The meaning will perhaps be explained by the progressive burger company’s new spokesman, Robert Gibbs, formerly Barack Obama’s spokesman and MSNBC contributor. McDonald’s British-born CEO Steve Easterbrook clarifies things, sort of, while speaking a strange business dialect: McDonald’s will be “more progressive around our social purpose in order to deepen our relationships with communities on the issues that matter to them.”

Suppose, however, you just want a burger and fries, not social purposes and relationships? You might prefer Five Guys or Shake Shack, where the burgers taste fine even without the condiment of community uplift.

[snip]

McDonald’s, deep in an identity crisis, is awakening tardily to Ira Gershwin’s truth: The Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, they’re only made of clay. Everything is perishable, and history is a story of vanished supremacies. Easterbrook, channeling his inner Hillary Clinton, vows to “reset” McDonald’s. Perhaps his reset will go better than hers did with Vladimir Putin.

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: gibbs; leftwingnuts; mcdonalds
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George Will wanders all over the map in the full article, but I thought the part above was interesting.


1 posted on 06/20/2015 1:43:20 PM PDT by RightGeek
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To: RightGeek

McD’s evidently thinks this will generate more revenue, the market will decide if they’re right or not.


2 posted on 06/20/2015 1:46:03 PM PDT by bigbob (The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. Abraham Lincoln)
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To: RightGeek
McDonald’s will be “more progressive around our social purpose in order to deepen our relationships with communities on the issues that matter to them.

What? From a hamburger stand?

3 posted on 06/20/2015 1:47:21 PM PDT by Inyo-Mono
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To: RightGeek

Because their traditional market is shrinking and they’re going out of business. Meanwhile places that serve food that tastes good, and is sometimes even healthy, are doing well.


4 posted on 06/20/2015 1:47:24 PM PDT by discostu (In fact funk's as old as dirt)
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To: RightGeek

When a successful enterprise becomes embarrassed of itself, its probably on the way out.

The best thing they can do is fire its leadership and promote people who are proud of what they do.


5 posted on 06/20/2015 1:48:05 PM PDT by marron
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To: RightGeek

Because they stupidly believe that will sell more burgers.

What will sell more items will be bringing back the beef tallow that the potatoes were fried in.


6 posted on 06/20/2015 1:48:13 PM PDT by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: "I should like to drive away not only the Turks (moslims) but all my foes.")
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To: RightGeek

I think the McDonald’s CEO has cracked. I didn’t understand anything about reaching out to the community and progressive blah blah blah. Its a burger place lol. and I don’t even know what the heck Kale is. :)I’m sure I’m probably the only one


7 posted on 06/20/2015 1:48:56 PM PDT by dp0622
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To: RightGeek

Trying to be all things to all people got them into this mess. Just make good, affordable food.


8 posted on 06/20/2015 1:49:12 PM PDT by edpc (Wilby 2016)
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To: RightGeek
Suppose, however, you just want a burger and fries, not social purposes and relationships? You might prefer Five Guys or Shake Shack, where the burgers taste fine even without the condiment of community uplift.

Umm, I can't speak to Five Guys, but Shake Shack is very much into selling their community involvement ("community uplift" in Will-speak). Of course, that's not why I would pick Shake Shack over McDonald's any day of the week. I would pick Shake Shack because, while it may be twice the price of McDonald's, it's about 10000000x the quality.

9 posted on 06/20/2015 1:49:30 PM PDT by Conscience of a Conservative
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To: bigbob

A month ago, I ate at McD’s for the first time in 30 some years. It was OK but with this new baggage, I doube I will live long enough to go back.


10 posted on 06/20/2015 1:49:39 PM PDT by Lion Den Dan
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To: RightGeek
McDonald’s has been serving burgers since Ray Kroc opened his first store in Des Plaines, Illinois, in April 1955.

Ray Kroc was still a MixMaster salesman when McDonald's served its first burger (though Kroc turned it into what it became, and the company has not recovered from losing him.)
11 posted on 06/20/2015 1:49:46 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: RightGeek

Stockholm syndrome?


12 posted on 06/20/2015 1:49:50 PM PDT by Leep ("Soon you won't be able to live in America as a Muslim. The noose is tightening," Elton Simpson)
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To: RightGeek
Because Ronald McDonald is about to be "outed" as homosexual?

Sveriges största Gaynyhetssajt

13 posted on 06/20/2015 1:50:48 PM PDT by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: bigbob

The death rattle of a disgusting fast food chain like all of them. That crap ain’t food


14 posted on 06/20/2015 1:51:03 PM PDT by atc23 (The Confederacy was the single greatest conservative resistance to federal authority ever)
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To: RightGeek

They know there will be tons of “McKale’s Navy” snarks out there, not something retail corporations like to have to deal with...


15 posted on 06/20/2015 1:51:05 PM PDT by chajin ("There is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12)
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To: RightGeek

McDonalds went down this path once before. They targeted the urban black market. Sales cratered.

Guess some people just don’t learn.


16 posted on 06/20/2015 1:52:28 PM PDT by piytar (Good will be called evil and Evil will be called good.)
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To: miss marmelstein

Better than the hydrogenated vegetable oils....


17 posted on 06/20/2015 1:52:35 PM PDT by __rvx86 (Ted Cruz: Strike two.)
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To: RightGeek

How about better burgers instead?


18 posted on 06/20/2015 1:53:48 PM PDT by meyer (There is no political solution to this troubling evolution...)
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To: miss marmelstein

YES! The beef tallow fries were the BEST EVER. But then they went libidiot. Sigh. And not they are apparently doubling down. Sigh again.


19 posted on 06/20/2015 1:54:21 PM PDT by piytar (Good will be called evil and Evil will be called good.)
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To: piytar

Now*


20 posted on 06/20/2015 1:55:16 PM PDT by piytar (Good will be called evil and Evil will be called good.)
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