Fast Food Industry History

„ Quickly prepared food from small stalls and limited-

limited-seating restaurants
dates back to ancient times

„ White Castle, established in 1921, is considered to be the first fast food chain

„ McDonald·s introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948

established modern principles of the fast food restaurant

„ Wendy's, founded in 1972, is credited with pioneering the use of the "drive-
"drive-
thru"
 Industry Sales

„ ½ S consumers spent about $110 billion on fast food in 2000

(up from $6 billion in 1970)

„ The National Restaurant Association forecasts that fast food

restaurants in the ½ S will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006
(5% increase over 2005)
Àajor Fast Food Competitors
(in order of annual sales):

„ McDonald·s: $24
billion

„ Wendy·s: $7 7 billion
„ Burger King: $7 7 billion
„ Subway: $6
billion
„ Taco Bell: $5 7 billion
„ Pizza Hut: $5 2 billion
„ KFC: $5 0 billion
„ Arby·s: $2 8 billion
„ Sonic: $2 7 billion
„ Jack in the Box: $2 5 billion
 £dvertising Expenditures:

„ Approximately $4 billion spent by fast food restaurant industry

annually

„ Ad venues consist of TV, print, outdoor billboard, and radio media

„ 95% of ½S fast food restaurant advertising budgets are allocated to

television

„ McDonald·s is the top fast food advertising spender (18th largest ad

spender of all ½ S brands), followed by Burger King and Wendy·s
(67th and 78th respectively)
 Fast Food £dvertising

Amid criticism and controversy over the nutritional value of

their products, fast food advertising attempts to appeal to
latent but powerful human desires and needs
 Fast Food £dvertising
Target £udiences
eneral demographic focus of ads:

„ Children
„ Adolescents / Teens
„ Adults 20s-
20s-
0s

Various techniques and appeals are employed based on the target

audience of the particular advertisement
 Taking £im at the Child Target
Fast food ads utilize varied methods to attract the attention and
manipulate the desires of children

„ Ronald McDonald is recognized by nearly 96% of American children

„ A child's first request for a product typically occurs at about 24 months of

age

„ Ad agencies acknowledge that toddlers and preschool children have

considerable purchase influence through ´nag factorµ, and are openly
targeting these age groups in fast food ads

„ Advertisers deliberately begin building lifetime brand recognition, brand

preference and brand loyalty with toddlers
 £dvertising Tactics Targeting
the Child Àarket:

„ Ads aimed at children often employ powerful tie-

tie-ins to popular
children·s movies and television programs

„ Character-based packaging and free toy offers encourage children to

Character-
pursue the product

„ Vivid colors, theme music, and brand characters are used in formats
that often mimic children·s programming

„ Addressing the base need for aesthetic sensations is often the focus of
ads targeting children, associating the brand image with exciting
audio--visual stimulation
audio
 Example: Pizza Hut
´Cheesy Bites Pizzaµ
Target Audience: Toddlers ² Young teens

‡ The commercial features
young teen boys sitting at a pizza parlor

Indicating that this commercial best fit for younger audiences
Style: Humor

‡ Miss Piggy is the main character in this commercial She is imitating Jessica
Simpson·s previous ad for Pizza Hut

‡ The
boys at the restaurant table deflects the pizza that was tossed over by
Miss Piggy In a previous commercial with Jessica Simpson, she tossed the pizza
bites right into their mouths

‡ Miss Piggy is part of the very popular Muppet show and is recognizable by
people of all ages

Conclusion: This is a youthful commercial with a blend of upbeat music and a

celebrity most children can recognize
 Basic £ppeals
Need for sex: This is a pre-
pre-teen commercial which features Miss Piggy, but it
also pararells the Jessica Simpson commercial Children will compare the two
commercials and also see the sex appeal of Jessica Simpson in the other ad
Hence, the pre-
pre-teens are getting a taste of what advertisers have in store for
them in the future

Need for Aesthetic sensation: The kids are in a dimly lit pizza parlor, and Miss
Piggy·s bright red dress is the main focus of the ad The sound of little pizza
bites being shot from across the room is impossible in real life, but in this
commercial it greatly appeals to children·s imaginations

Style: Humor
‡ Miss Piggy is the main character in this commercial She is imitating Jessica
Simpson·s previous ad for Pizza Hut
‡ The
boys at the restaurant table deflects the pizza that was tossed over by
Miss Piggy In a previous commercial with Jessica Simpson, she tossed the
pizza bites right into their mouths

Style: ½se of Celebrity

‡ Miss Piggy is part of the very popular Muppet show and is recognizable by
people of all ages
 The £dolescent / Teen Target

Teen-focused fast food advertising emphasizes characteristics that

Teen-
youth aspire to:

„ Being popular
„ Being attractive/sexy
„ Being cool
„ Standing out in a crowd
„ Attracting attention

The ads target these and other qualities important

to adolescents
 £dvertising Tactics Targeting the
£dolescent / Teen Àarket:
„ Addressing the need for affiliation
Teen--focused ads frequently portray groups of friends, sporting teams,
Teen
and other group activities

„ Capitalizing on the popularity of current fads, styles and trends

Many ads are based on popular trends in music, fashion, and language;
celebrities are often used, and are appearing more frequently

„ Appealing to the need for sex

The use of sexual themes in fast food ads aimed at the adolescent market
is on the increase
Example: Carl·s Jr ´Spicy Parisµ
„ Ad description: The ad features heiress Paris Hilton in a chic black bathing
suit sudsing up a Bentley She breaks from her hard work to take a bite of a
perfect Carl·s Jr burger Playing on a catch phrase coined by the heiress, the
commercial ends with the tag line ´That·s Hotµ
„ Target audience: Shown during Desperate Housewives, The O C and The
Apprentice Targeting the young, powerful & affluent
„ Ad subtext: Paris is hot Spicy BBQ is hot If you like Paris, you·ll like our
sandwich
 Fowles ´Basic £ppealsµ

Basic appeals employed:

„ Need for attention: ½tilizes the celebrity endorsement phenomenon

Associates product with celebrity infamous for attracting attention

„ Need for Sex: Employs sex appeal in dress and body movements

„ Need for affiliation: Invites desire to affiliate with her intimately,

affiliate with her wealth, and thus affiliate with her hunger
 £ds that Target £dults

Fast food advertisers face a tougher target in the adult market, but adjust
their appeals accordingly

„ Assuming a more informed consumer, ads must actively counter negative

press related to the brand and industry

„ Advertisers must break through a greater resistance or insensitivity to

advertising in general

„ Ads must take into account the sense of responsibility inherent to parenting
and family life
 £dvertising Tactics Targeting
the £dult Àarket:
„ Addressing the need to feel safe
In response to criticism, fast food ads increasingly attempt to portray their
products as a healthy choice

„ Appealing to the need to escape

By portraying subjects in their
0s displaying youthful qualities, fast food
ads target the desire to feel young

„ Targeting the need to nurture

Adult--focused fast food ads frequently employ the use of the ´happy familyµ
Adult
scenario, implying that their brand and products will contribute to a healthy,
happy relationship between children and their parents
 Example: ÀcDonalds
´Crowd Surfing Teacherµ
„ Ad description: The commercial begins with high school youths eating at
McDonald·s while recounting the excitement of an earlier music concert
Flashback clips focus on the orange shoes of a crowd surfing fan The youths
encounter their teacher in the restaurant and ask him what he·s up to; he replies
´grading papersµ and walks past The camera focuses on his feet; he·s wearing
the same orange shoes as the crowd surfer, and he raises his fist in a popular
´rock--and
´rock and--rollµ hand sign as he exits

„ Targetaudience: Pre
Pre--middle-
middle-aged adults (airs frequently during VH1 ´I Love
the ²insert decade
decade--µ nostalgia shows)

„ Ad subtext: Stay youthful Fast food is often associated with teenagers You
will still be ´coolµ if you eat at McDonald·s like teenagers do
 Basic £ppeals

„ Need for affiliation: The ad implies that by eating at McDonald·s (and crowd
surfing at the concert), the teacher has gained respect and credibility from his
teenage students

„ Need for attention: From the crowd surfing, to the orange shoes, to the ´rock-
´rock-
and--rollµ hand sign, this ad implies that those who seek attention are
and
rewarded with admiration

„ Need to escape: The ad invites the target viewer to escape the trappings of
responsible adult life and regain a youthful freedom enjoyed by the young
and young-
young-at-
at-heart, who choose McDonald·s as a favored brand
 Changing Tactics:
Reactionary £ds and Products

In recent years a variety of popular influences have led to negative

publicity for fast food companies and their products
 Recent Influences on Consumer
£ttitudes toward Fast Food:
„ astood Nation: The Dark Side of the All
All--American Meal (Book by Eric
Schlosser, 2001)
Presents
Presets a scathg
scathing indictment
tmet of the fast food
foo industry
ustry in
 the ½ted
½te States

„ Supers
Suprs M (lm, Dr Morga Spurlo , 2004)
Doumts th physal a psyhologal 

ts o
atg oly MDoal's

ast
oo, thr ts a ay, vry ay,
or thrty ays

„ Ba publty rgarg

ast
oo·s otrbuto to hl a ault obsty

Publ rorts hav lar hl a ault obsty a ´atoal µ a
hav strss
ast
oo·s rol  th robl
 The fast food industry
has responded with:
„ Health andfitness focused ads
Ads are increasingly depicting fast food as part of an active, healthy lifestyle

„ Salads and other ´healthierµ menu choices

These items are deceptive: McDonald·s popular ´Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch
Saladµ w/dressing contains 510 calories (55% from
1g fat), 1670mg of
sodium, and has meat and toppings fried in dangerous hydrogenated oils

„ Shiftof focus from product to brand

Ads increasingly avoid showing subjects actually eating the products, and in
many cases, do not even show the products themselves, but instead focus on
reinforcing brand image and awareness
 In Conclusion:

In a fiercely competitive arena where brand recognition and loyalty rules,

advertising is the life·s blood of the fast food industry

Tenaciously pursuing cradle-

cradle-to-
to-grave brand loyalty, fast food companies
have not only succeeded in making a big industry truly massive, but
they have also drawn fire from critics of their tactics, and unwanted
attention from public health concerns

Commanding massive promotional budgets, and always adapting to

public sentiments and moods, fast food advertising will continue to be a
force to be reckoned with
 Resources and Links
„ Sg  th ½ S o A rtsg
or ast oos, Soas, a Autoobls
htt://car abtsjourals org/cg/cott/
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„ oo A rtsg a Mar tg Drct at Chlr a Aolscts  th ½S
htt://www jba org/cott/1/1/

„ A Ag A rtsg Ctury: Icos: Roal McDoal

htt://www aag co/ctury/co02 htl

„ McDoals Nw Caag Is Th Aarac o

a oo Start
htt://www busssw co/ththra/braway/arch s/2005/0
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wc htl

„ Abras t: Th lag ½S a rtsrs  2004

htt://www -
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„ Rollg Sto aga: ast-

ast-oo Nato: Th Tru Cost O
Arca's Dt
htt://www csotlght org/a/rss/rollgsto1 htl