A recent commercial has caught my attention; and after viewing it several times over the last few weeks, I cannot go one more week without commenting. Now, let me say upfront that my recollection of what was said in the commercial is not verbatim, and the following quotes are “loose”. I did, however, see the commercial enough to get what was relevant for this commentary—you’ll get the gist.
The commercial begins with a thin gentleman approaching the counter at McDonald’s. His mannerisms and speech give the viewer the impression that he might be ordering a gourmet dinner at a fine dining establishment.
He starts by telling the counterperson that he wants to begin with a Side Salad.
Next, he orders the McValue Fries to “cleanse the palate”.
And, is it his understanding that the Double Cheeseburger is now offered on the Dollar Menu? Great. He’ll have that, too.
“Wait!” His arm flies upward, as if he is conducting an orchestra-run-amuck. He’s in a quandary. He cannot decide whether to get the Hot Fudge Sundae or the Two-Apple-Pies-For-A-Dollar for dessert.
“How about both?” the counterperson responds.
He replies favorably.
After the voice-over blah-blah-blahs about the great food and great deals, the final scene returns to our junk-food connoisseur, gently swishing around his 16 oz. CocaCola Classic like it’s a fine wine. He takes a delicate sip,
“Mmmm!”
Now, I know McDonald’s is not fine dining. And, I’m afraid to find out what was on his palate that McValue Fries would cleanse. But these things were not what bothered me about this commercial. I went to www.mcdonalds.com and added up all the calories from those items he ordered. I tried using the website’s “Bag-A-Meal” nutrition breakdown page, but I couldn’t get everything this guy ate into the on-line bag! Guess what? Depending on what dressing he ordered for his side-salad, his meal came to between 1,855 and 2,055 calories. One meal? 2,055 calories? That’s more than many people should eat in one day!
Here’s the breakdown: Side Salad, 15 calories…Dressing, 90 – 290 calories…McValue Fries, 320…Double Cheeseburger, 420…Hot Fudge Sundae, 340…Two Baked Apple Pies, 520…16 oz. Coke, 150 calories.
I tried to give this guy the benefit of the doubt; although, I couldn’t imagine him opting for the low-cal dressing on the salad, when he was also eating fries, a double cheeseburger, and two desserts! Now, let’s pretend that after he topped this meal off with the hot fudge sundae, he could only eat one of the apple pies. That’s still 1595 to 1795 calories for one meal. I’m stuffed just thinking about it.
I noticed the man placing the order was very thin. Yet, he appeared to know the menu well enough that I got the impression he ate there often. What does this tell the viewer? And, what about the McDonald’s employee? After he ordered almost 1,000 calories worth of food and drink, the counterperson suggested the man order BOTH desserts! Is that healthy? Could McDonald’s be held liable if the man got fat?
I believe McDonald’s needs to re-think this particular commercial. Maybe the guy could be just a little overweight. Or, maybe, just as bartenders do, the counterperson could cut him off midway through his order, before he hurt himself. Now, THAT would be my idea of an entertaining commercial!
Fine Dining?