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Title: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: IainC on September 17, 2009, 08:28:55 AM
365Black (http://www.365black.com/365black/whatis.jsp)

Quote
Like the unique African Baobab tree, which nourishes its community with its leaves and fruit, McDonald's has branched out to the African-American community nourishing it with valuable programs and opportunities.

 :awesome_for_real:


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 17, 2009, 08:38:48 AM
My people need a place to go!


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 17, 2009, 08:46:35 AM
Congratulations on making the African Baobab tree the new international symbol of racism, McD's.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: bhodi on September 17, 2009, 08:48:21 AM
Could they be any more condescending? Who thought this was a good idea?


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: gryeyes on September 17, 2009, 08:49:41 AM
Some white folks in marketing?


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Draegan on September 17, 2009, 09:06:27 AM
365Yellow next?


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 17, 2009, 09:09:27 AM
As I told Bhodi on IM, it's not that I'm bothered by this being racist: Which it clearly fucking is.

I'm bothered by how this stuff comes to fruition. Some asshole in marketing/PR came up with this stupid shit so they could just leave it up and never have to do anything for half their employees in February and all it's going to do is sour the company with the entire black community.

The only way to cap this is if they gave out coupons that only black people could use.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Draegan on September 17, 2009, 09:10:50 AM
The only way to cap this is if they gave out coupons that only black people could use.

That would be awesome to watch.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: gryeyes on September 17, 2009, 09:11:08 AM
Offering layaway for African Americans would be pretty bad.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Surlyboi on September 17, 2009, 09:14:57 AM
Next they'll be offering watermelon shakes and dark chocolate brownies "for the brothas"


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 17, 2009, 09:22:26 AM
Next they'll be offering watermelon shakes and dark chocolate brownies "for the brothas"

MASSA IS COMING


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: LK on September 17, 2009, 09:32:23 AM
I like the word choice "rooted" in the slogan at the top.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: AutomaticZen on September 17, 2009, 09:34:02 AM
That first black family looks like someone is pointing a gun at them.

Quote
The only way to cap this is if they gave out coupons that only black people could use.
Hell yeah.  That'd be the delicious icing on this misguidedly shitty cake.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Surlyboi on September 17, 2009, 09:37:28 AM
OH LAWDIE! IS DAT SUM CHIKKIN MACNUGGATS?


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 17, 2009, 09:40:48 AM
You know, I can't remember when McDonald's wasn't targeting black people, maybe back in the eighties?  Maybe?  I don't get what they are going for here.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Surlyboi on September 17, 2009, 09:43:24 AM
I'm here to tell you, the chicken mcnuggets is comin' home to roost, y'all...

(http://www.cinemaqueer.com/movie%20images/chasinghooper.jpg)


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Khaldun on September 17, 2009, 09:53:26 AM
As I told Bhodi on IM, it's not that I'm bothered by this being racist: Which it clearly fucking is.

I'm bothered by how this stuff comes to fruition. Some asshole in marketing/PR came up with this stupid shit so they could just leave it up and never have to do anything for half their employees in February and all it's going to do is sour the company with the entire black community.

The only way to cap this is if they gave out coupons that only black people could use.

I agree. This kind of stuff bothers me less for some ideological reason and more for what it says about how big institutions function (whether they're companies or civic organizations). There is just something really wrong with organizational life at this point, because this happens a lot: some middle-manager folks get anxious that they don't appear to be doing anything important, so they enslave the lower-level worker bees to do the nitty-gritty work for some dumb idea that they've sold to the other middle-managers by using a lot of PowerPoint and trendy b-school jargon. Then it's handed to the higher-ups, who give it a check mark so they can get back to fucking their mistresses and shopping for $10,000 faucets for their CEO bathroom.

Then some other middle manager gets handed the clean-up after the dumb plan goes boom. The CEO gets interrupted again so he can issue a statement of regret, some money gets handed to non-profits, and b-school professors get to add a new case study that will let them generate new jargon to be used in service to the next dumb plan. The original planners have, unless they're *really* stupid, by this time managed to collectivize and anonymize responsibility for the dumb plan, so nobody is really held accountable. Maybe a worker bee or two will get shitcanned; occasionally the VP who was the first fool to checkmark the middle-manager's plan will be given his golden handshake and move on to another organization or maybe if it's a recession like now, end up an unemployable executive.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: HaemishM on September 17, 2009, 11:57:57 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_79fnYlU7F0&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_79fnYlU7F0&feature=related)

 :awesome_for_real:


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Lakov_Sanite on September 17, 2009, 02:41:55 PM
I'd kill for a good watermelon shake right now.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Azaroth on September 17, 2009, 03:42:32 PM
Yeah, that'd be awesome.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Trippy on September 17, 2009, 10:42:03 PM
I'd hit it.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: 01101010 on September 18, 2009, 04:32:47 AM
Wow... could they have picked a worse tree to represent? I showed this to a few friends from all ethnic backgrounds and everyone of them said without reading what the site was about, that was some kinda lynching tree in the deep south.  :uhrr:


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: TheWalrus on September 18, 2009, 08:43:59 AM
Should have gone with a ficus.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 18, 2009, 08:47:30 AM
Needed to be a tree that white people would recognize as African.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 18, 2009, 08:50:26 AM
I could not find out anything about the Baobab being used for lynching. It was however used as a shitter and prison back in the day.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 18, 2009, 08:58:42 AM
That's because baobab don't grow in the southern US.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: voodoolily on September 18, 2009, 11:26:37 AM
That's because baobab don't grow in the southern US.

This.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sir T on September 19, 2009, 03:57:09 PM
Go on, buy that burger FOR THE CHILDREN!!!


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Tale on September 19, 2009, 07:08:06 PM
McDonalds for Asians! And it's called http://www.myinspirasian.com


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: LK on September 19, 2009, 09:18:58 PM
Wow they are going all the way with this.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sheepherder on September 19, 2009, 09:56:51 PM
You stay classy McDonalds.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: dusematic on September 19, 2009, 10:02:07 PM
Holy shit.  Everyone I showed 365 black to thought it was a joke site.  Inspirasian is really pushing it.  Wow.  Pretty floored really.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Oban on September 20, 2009, 12:25:11 AM
I like how the black one is black and the asian one is yellow.



Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Triforcer on September 20, 2009, 12:27:05 AM
How is this racist or bad?  I don't get it.  It could have been a bit more subtle in its language, but I don't see the issue. 


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Lantyssa on September 20, 2009, 09:35:26 AM
Why do they need to exist at all?

My first thought on the 'inspirasian' design was that some weaboo (and I hate that word) thought of every Asian thing they could, as if it's one singular culture, and made a website out of it.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: dusematic on September 20, 2009, 10:48:52 AM
How is this racist or bad?  I don't get it.  It could have been a bit more subtle in its language, but I don't see the issue. 

I'm not sure about it being racist.  I'm just shocked at the blatant pandering and the out of touch people who came up with this idea.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Evil Elvis on September 20, 2009, 11:13:14 AM
(http://www.mcdjfi.com/images/shoes.jpg)


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sheepherder on September 20, 2009, 11:44:57 AM
How is this racist or bad?  I don't get it.  It could have been a bit more subtle in its language, but I don't see the issue.

Courtesy of Maddox (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=your_stupid_ideas)


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 20, 2009, 11:51:24 AM
How is this racist or bad?  I don't get it.  It could have been a bit more subtle in its language, but I don't see the issue.  
It really has nothing to do with racist, as I've said - IT IS racist - but it doesn't matter. If you really need the reason it's racist - when you're a giant corporation hellbent on dominating an industry, you can't really go around singling out races and creating special shit to make them notice you. It's pretty much the definition of low level racism in a corporate environment. It's the act of singling out that makes it racist.

Anyway, really, it's the audacity and ridiculousness of even creating sites like this. The fact they exist is flabbergasting. It's not insulting to me, it's hilarious to me, but it's insulting that people get paid to come up with this shit.

Still waiting for black-only coupons.

I guess I would lol a bit at new Asian Happy Meals though. ^_^


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Triforcer on September 20, 2009, 05:49:54 PM
[ It's the act of singling out that makes it racist.

Brand positioning to a specific race is racist?  I see hair products in America all the time that specifically say "specially designed for your hair" with a picture of a black woman, and the same for east Asian women.  If you go to Chinatown or Japantown in various American cities, virtually all the ads with show Asian-American children or Asian-American adult models.  The gay hotspots/neighborhoods of cities will have ads with two men or two women holding hands.  Are those things racist and homophobic?  Don't even get me started on how bras are marketed with the implication that WOMEN should wear them. 


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 20, 2009, 06:16:17 PM
You did not just use hair products and China/Japan Town as a comparison for racially driven fast food campaigns.

Are you even slightly aware how retarded that is? Like, even in the least?

Truly, you make the worst arguments in the world.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: NowhereMan on September 20, 2009, 11:22:01 PM
Nonsense, african americans need different hair products from God's people just like they need 'different' fast food ('different' referrring to the inclusion of certain libido inhibiting chemicals :why_so_serious:)


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sheepherder on September 20, 2009, 11:26:09 PM
Triforcer, don't be retarded.  This is more than pictures, it's the whole fucking shortbus "we get you, you're just like a fucking tree you've never heard of from a continent you don't give a shit about."  It's blatantly fucking racist but apparently it isn't, because they're pandering to the traditional victims, and that can't be prejudiced, because they're the victims (note: we'll be building special fountains and installing special seat in our buses just for you!)  McDonalds has all the delicacy of a vulture feeding on a corpse, is marginally less detrimental to the victim, and is mildly more appetizing.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Triforcer on September 21, 2009, 12:43:48 AM
EDIT:  I had something written here, but I think the link alone suffices. 

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/165189 


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 21, 2009, 12:51:16 AM
You're being retarded for the sake of being retarded, and I don't understand why.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Triforcer on September 21, 2009, 12:53:41 AM
I just don't see the controversy. I read the website and am honestly puzzled by the reactions here.  But I'll leave it at that, no need for this thread to go to a bad place. 


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: UnSub on September 21, 2009, 01:24:00 AM
I just don't see the controversy. I read the website and am honestly puzzled by the reactions here.  But I'll leave it at that, no need for this thread to go to a bad place. 

It's because MacDonald's got a bunch of their whitest guys together to develop sites for the coloured people.

There is no problem marketing differently to different target groups, but it has to be done well. This is like EQ's marketing campaign where they went, "Well, gee, what do nerds like? Hot chicks? Ok, put them in there, saying how great EQ is. Send SOE the bill."

It's not controversial, it's just clumsy. It'd be like McDonald's going, "What do we associate with white people? Mayonnaise!" and releasing the McWhitey.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Arthur_Parker on September 21, 2009, 04:08:35 AM
Courtesy of Maddox (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=your_stupid_ideas)

That's awesome, I passed through Atlanta airport in 1996 and walked past Daley Thompson (http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/the-champion-that-time-forgot-why-do-we-find-it-so-hard-to-love-daley-thompson-876424.html), the idea he might also have been referred to as an "African American" is hilarious.  He's the guy who whistled God save the Queen while accepting an Olympic gold, celebrities don't normally do much for me but just seeing him in the flesh made my whole holiday.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 21, 2009, 05:56:48 AM
Here's the thing to do if you want to know if something is racist: ask someone of that race.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sky on September 21, 2009, 07:59:01 AM
Fuck you all, we get shamrock shakes! Micks win.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 21, 2009, 09:19:49 AM
Here's the thing to do if you want to know if something is racist: ask someone of that race.
People can't be trusted to judge racism if it's directed towards that person.

You need to ask a comedian. If it's funny, it's probably racist.

Inspirasian is funny.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Cyrrex on September 21, 2009, 09:42:07 AM
9 out of 10 people can't spot the difference between racism and stereotyping either (made up facts, ftw), which doesn't help. 


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sheepherder on September 21, 2009, 10:10:00 AM
Oh, okay, as long as there's a difference it's fine then.



Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sky on September 21, 2009, 10:10:24 AM
9 out of 10 people can't spot the difference between racism and stereotyping either (made up facts, ftw), which doesn't help. 
C'mon, we've already established that women and asians drive poorly.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: schild on September 21, 2009, 10:11:58 AM
Yea, but none of us are marketing a save driving course to either. We haven't started the 3pointfemturn.com or anything. Please do try to stay on topic.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Yegolev on September 21, 2009, 10:55:07 AM
It's not like they put up a site called youcanteatwhitepeoplefood.org or anything.  That would be both wrong and racist.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Broughden on September 21, 2009, 02:22:25 PM
Could they be any more condescending? Who thought this was a good idea?


It's because MacDonald's got a bunch of their whitest guys together to develop sites for the coloured people.


Courtesy of Kasey Short, Marketing Manager, also a black female. She is on a video on the site under "Opportunities."
Or Greg Watson, VP US Marketing Strategy, also a black male. On the same video.



Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Slyfeind on September 21, 2009, 03:13:39 PM
Most certainly figureheads appointed by a white man. "Let's get one of them negro chicks on our website to show we're really down with them!"


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: tazelbain on September 21, 2009, 03:38:17 PM
YES, since finily captured the black experience in America, they can now get to informing me about my whiteness, I have been so lost. HELP me MCD.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Engels on September 21, 2009, 07:02:04 PM
Being black does not perclude you from being a marketing moron.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: UnSub on September 21, 2009, 08:36:19 PM
Could they be any more condescending? Who thought this was a good idea?


It's because MacDonald's got a bunch of their whitest guys together to develop sites for the coloured people.


Courtesy of Kasey Short, Marketing Manager, also a black female. She is on a video on the site under "Opportunities."
Or Greg Watson, VP US Marketing Strategy, also a black male. On the same video.

So the explanation for doing clumsy race-based website marketing is...?

I'm confident that those particular people didn't look through the site(s) prior to launching; they more likely just signed off a budget on 'Racially-oriented online marketing programs'.


Title: Re: McDonalds is down with you
Post by: Sheepherder on September 21, 2009, 09:27:16 PM
We all know why McDonalds wants to score some credibility with the rapidly increasing black and Asian demographic in the U.S.  That doesn't make their efforts any less retarded or misguided, for reasons already covered.  To re-iterate: black people outside of Africa generally don't give a fuck about Africa, because they don't know fuck all about it.  On the other hand, if they had featured Dr. King front and centre on their webpage they would be fucking untouchable.