Fast food chains have received a lot of criticism over the years, and for good reason, too: there food is generally considered to be unhealthy, entry and lower level employees are thought to be treated unfairly and their marketing campaigns sheds a certain light on consumers making them reminiscent of victims. I’ve decided to focus on the latter of these concerns, visit my local Burger King store and take a closer look at what this particular location had to offer as far as in-store advertising and promotions go.
The first thing I noticed, when I was still a few blocks away from the Burger King was the huge backlit letter board promoting their “2 for 4” deal (two Whoppers for four dollars). I thought that sounded good and figured I would probably go with that deal once I got to the store. I mean, it does sound pretty economic, right?
When I finally reached my destination, I gave a quick glance around and took note of the line people waiting for the bus; about a quarter of the people were holding those brown Burger King take-out bags, or drinking out of a cup branded with the Burger King logo. Then, right before I walked through the doors, I noticed something very interesting: There was an ad posted about three-four feet off the ground, a promotion for their children’s toys, provided by Little Tykes Toy Company. There goes your synergy.
Now either this was placed there to catch the attention of kids or vertically challenged adults. I’d bet my arm for the prior.
So, once I got my foot in the door, I expected to see other promotions aimed towards the prepubescent crowd, but I didn’t. In fact, the place was kind of bland, drab, and I noticed it smelled a little bad (I soon realized there were three dirty homeless dudes sitting around in the restaurant, one of them, Oscar. I used to drink beer with him in the park when I was a teenager and make him hit on women for my amusement).
The next thing I noticed were seven framed pictures on the walls throughout the store. They were framed photographs depicting burgers that seemed to have a theme: One looked like a Picasso, one was all cartoony, another looked like a traffic sign, one looked like a mock of that Da Vinci anatomy thing (I don't know what it's called). There was also a blown-up black-and-white photograph of what looked like a drive-in Burger King from the company’s early years (apparently burgers were 19 cents back then). The only other decorative thing was the huge laminated poster of the nutritional values of their food posted on the wall.
After sitting for a few minutes a child and his mother came in. Interestingly enough he was playing with one of the toys that Burger King was giving away with their Kids Value Meal. This hinted at the notion that, of course, they had eaten there recently. Soon after, Oscar, the homeless guy had gotten up, stumbled to where the kid was and asked him for a high-five. The kid responded by letting out a loud yell and burst into tears.
So much for a kid friendly environment, Burger King.
