Good as You writes about McDonald's coming under fire (what tiny little fire it might be) from the American Family Association, because the company took action that made it appear as if they support gay rights...

...Mickey D's has become the latest American corporation to suffer at the baselessly extremist, rabidly anti-gay hands of Don Wildmon Inc. The McNugget company's "sin"? The refused to shun Vice President of Communications Richard Ellis for his decision to serve on the Board of Directors of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).

Read on...

http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2008/07/exlcusive-afa-t.html

Labels: McDonald's

Reuters reported today that McDonald's is looking to expand its coffee sales by offering cappuccinos, lattes and other drinks, hoping to cash in an additional $1 billion to its sales.

The fast-food chain is already offering espresso-based drinks in 800 of its stores across the USA. McDonald's has 14,000 locations in the USA, compared to 10,700 Starbucks locations in the USA, and 5,300 Dunkin' Donuts locations in the USA.

Dunkin' Donuts lays claim to the most coffee sales in the USA.

So certainly, McDonald's is in a position to lay some hurt on Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.

However, Starbucks is pretty safe the way I see it. People go there for the in-store experience, their coffee is secondary.

Dunkin' Donuts, on the other hand, is a different story. People typically just drive up, get a coffee and a maple bar, and they're on their way. No one goes to a Dunkin' Donuts for the in-store experience.

The same holds true for McDonalds.

McDonalds is seeing its core-competency reduced to its Big Mac. It tried to reposition itself as a health-food chain with its Premium Salads line, but instead just farted. On top of that, their McGriddles lineup failed to generate any staying power in the fast-food breakfast phenomenon.

Even though the company is still making a lot of money from these products, they've lost branding power. Today, McDonald's is not known for much more than its Big Mac and Egg McMuffin. And if that's all the company has, it's going to get pushed out of the market.

The coffee market is a very cheap and easy way to create some new customers. If they're just going to sell the "garden variety" coffees, capuccinos, and lattes, they'll do really well. But they'll never compete against the Starbucks of the world. Even if they sell gourmet-quality stuff, people will still regard them as McDonald's and treat them as such.

Labels: Coffee, McDonald's

McDonald's today formally announced the nationwide launch of its new breakfast burrito, the McSkillet Burrito.


While it's been selling in various markets across the country for the past year-and-a-half, it's never been "rolled" out nationwide.

McDonald's describes it as follows...

The McSkillet Burrito combines scrambled eggs, sausage and skillet potatoes with savory flavors and ingredients including a medley of cheeses, red and green bell peppers, onions and salsa roja. Available today for $2.49 each.

The world's largest fast-food burger chain says it's been seeing a 42% increase in breakfast sales since 2002, a statistic that seems to be driving new breakfast concoctions across all fast-food chains.

Labels: Breakfast Burritos, McDonald's

The National Flossing Council apparently fired off an appeal to Don Thompson, President of McDonald's USA, to include a packet of dental floss with each happy meal.

The trade industry wants to promote the Friday after Thanksgiving as "National Flossing Day", and is trying to piggy-back on Mickey D's powerful brand...

The request to Thompson notes that McDonald's has had great success with its Healthy Options menu and proposes that offering floss will expand their efforts to include the dental health of McDonald's customers.

It's a bad idea. Think of what this suggests. If you buy a happy meal, or a Healthy Options item, you'll need dental floss because this food is really bad for your teeth.

Read their press release...
http://www.flossing.org/pages/McDonald's%26Floss2007.html

Labels: McDonald's