McDonald's Getting Bigger

Not surprisingly McDonald's is getting bigger in other countries in the world, but this time they are going to Japan a place where a healthy eating and lifestyle are a way of culture. Japan has a strong reputation of having one the healthiest countries in the world by staying away from fast food and focusing on smaller portion sizes and other options like rice and fish, but not this time. McDonald's Holdings CO is Japans top restaurant chain by number of stores rolled out its Big America 2 campaign last week, featuring four burgers named after U.S. locales. All four of the burgers are over 550 calories and not a typical meal you would expect on a Japanese plate but it is becoming very popular and I expect Japans obesity rate to increase within the next couple years. In tough economic times people go for the cheap food like McDonald's because you get more for your dollar even in a traditional country like Japan. As many flaws there are with McDonald's they have always had a very strong marketing campaign which is why they operate in over 100 countries and 6 different continents worldwide and have been very successful doing it. Every time I see a advertisement for McDonald's either on TV or somewhere else the people always look like there having a great time and the food looks really good. It makes people want to go there just because of the enjoyment of eating a big burger is perceived to be. There are a lot of social irresponsibility when it comes to the fast food industry in ethics and the environment. Factory farming is a huge issue that is not often recognized because people don't take the time to go behind the scenes and question what is in the food there about to eat. A lot of the time all that is cared about is how fast they will get the food and how good it tastes. The way McDonald's operates is not changing because not enough people are demanding that there should be change and more healthier options available so there just making a smart business decision and staying with what is working and operating the cheapest and most efficient way possible. I don't see Japan being anywhere near the U.S in obesity rates but it is hard not to predict a increase when more fast food chains are available and people are going to them regularly. If more and more fast food chains keep opening up worldwide there could be some dark days approaching for both the health of the people and the environment. Do you think Japans obesity rates will ever be close to the U.S?

response to Eric Bergstroms "super" marketing

I completely agree with your main point that marketing owns the Super Bowl. Advertisors spend 3 million dollars for a 30 second commercial on Super Bowl sunday because they know that it could potentialy make or break there company. This is a event that marketers would be crazy not to put forth there best effort to promote the right way because over 100 million people tune in for the super bowl almost as if it were a holiday. Studies have shown that about 25% of people that watch are doing so just for the commercials alone. Throughtout the years the underline strategy of how Super Bowl marketing was done is to keep the commercials under rap until the game to keep people wondering, but in 2011 the strategy seemed to switch due to social media like facebook and twitter. For the first time some campaigns were aired before the super bowl and will continue to be aired weeks after as well. There are crowd-sourcing campaigns that draft fans into contributing to the broadcast ads, Facebook efforts, and Twitter-based stunts to build bonds with consumers. The Volkswagon Darth Vador commericial generated 6 million views 2 days before the Super Bowl and will continue to be watched after. The marketing strategy in 2011 may have changed the way marketers expand there campaigns in the future. Do you think that is a better idea to get your advertisement out there before Super Bowl or keep it under raps till the game?