What advertising says about culture

Discussion Open Forum
1

Looking through the McDonalds slogans for various countries over the years is interesting reading. It says a lot about the culture of the people in each country.

  • Canada

From 1973 to 2003, Canadian McDonalds had twenty two different English slogans, but only one French slogan (Moi J’m McDonald). French people are so simple minded you can advertise using the same three word slogan for 30 years and they won’t notice.

  • Germany

These guys really crack me up. The slogans are just so mundane, it says a lot about Germans. It looks like they’re really trying to say something cool and interesting, but it’s just not in the genes. Who in their right mind would say ‘The somewhat different restaurant’, or ‘It’s good that McDonald’s exists’? And ‘Eating with fun’? What?

  1. Das etwas andere Restaurant (The somewhat different restaurant)
  2. Essen mit Spaß (Eating with fun)
  3. Gut, dass es McDonald’s gibt (It’s good that McDonald’s exists)
  4. Der Platz wo Du gern bist, weil man gut isst (The place where you like to be because you eat well)
  5. McDonald’s ist einfach gut (McDonald’s is simply good)
  • Netherlands

Dutch people look like German people on drugs (they’re not really, they’re Dutch people on drugs). The McDonald’s slogans show that Dutch people are easily impressed.

  1. Ze zei meneer tegen me (She called me Sir!)
  2. Je mag hier met je handjes eten (You can eat with your hands here!)
  • Russia

Pretty much what you’d expect.

  1. Великие моменты каждый день в McDonald’s (Food at McDonald’s worth half day queue)
  2. Великие моменты в McDonald’s (Eat McDonald’s don’t need eat mother)
  • Turkey

Land of dodgy carpets and Australian tourists. The cultural melting pot where Asian meets Europe.

  1. McDonald’s Gibisi Yok! (McDonald’s - better with yoghurt!)
  2. İşte Bunu Seviyorum (It’s the saviour bun)
  • Latin America

Ignorance and religion, a popular combination.

  1. ¿C Alguien decir McDonald’s? (What is this ‘McDonalds’?)
  2. Es un que Patri di Dios momento Jesu hace que su incarnacion día como immaculata Maria para el gran sabor Santo Spiritu de McDonald’s (I have no idea, but it looks like half the Catholic Mass)

Source. May contain traces of fiction.

2

Don’t Taiwanese people flap their arms like chickens and go Boogoo, boogoo! when they’re in a McDonald’s? That says a lot about culture too, I think.

3

Good point. Do they have any ‘localized’ McDonald’s slogans here?

4

Yeah, something like “Badatadada…I’m lovin’ it!”
(Don’t forget to flap arms like a chicken.)

5

but dont forget that some of the reason german ads are so boring is their competition laws used to be pretty mean

I mean imagine being a german advertiser, the McDs brief lands on your desk, but you are restricted by law to be “honest, fair, not overhype, mislead or offer gifts” you are stuck with,

McDs may be a fun family outing with reasonable quality for the price

6

Love it! :bravo:

7

Here’s a Korean cell phone ad. What does this say about Korean culture?

8

I think it says that Korean kids are willing to watch a long commercial if there are some pop stars in it.

9

Yes, that makes sense. Here’s an explanation of the ad, from one of the Youtube posters.

At least it’s supposed to be an explanation. :ponder:

10

A lot of culture is reflected in ads. But Mc do’s ads are never good, no matter which country.
The Indian punch line says “Mc donald’s has ‘something’”. I don’t think they should be the yardstick to reflect a country’s culture.

11

I’ve always shared the view that there is a direct correlation between the amount of marketing/advertising and the number of morons in a culture. This could explain why it’s been increasing in the UK and north America.

For ‘what culture says about advertising’, see Bill Hicks.

12

So what does reality TV reflect?

13

I’ve always believed that if they are advertising it, you don’t need it.

14

good one!

15

I’ve always wondered by companies that are pretty much universally known and which are widely loved, like Coca Cola or McDonald’s, even need to bother advertising once they became household names.

16

Because demand for their unhealthy, mediocre products, and their high market share, were created by that advertising. Without continued advertising, food that actually tasted good as well as unhealthy, mediocre products heavily advertised by competitors would naturally erode that market share.

17

A dysfunctional obsession with mediocrity. A disturbingly unhealthy voyeurism for which members of society are carefully groomed from youth. It is the greatest success of capitalism, compelling individuals to market themselves as consumer products for the vicarious satisfaction of others. Volunteers for the modern Circus Maximus.

18

The one in which you are unhappy, unloved and unfulfilled, but this one last product will make it all happen for you. TV shows exist only to coax you into watching ads and reinforce the message that you should be using people and treasuring things, instead of the other way 'round.

19

Excellent, well said. Advertising is a pernicious propaganda campaign to convince you that you are essentially and seriously flawed, inadequate, dysfunctional. Its aim is to break down your self-esteem in order to persuade you to purchase the magic product which will ‘fix’ everything. Later of course they have to explain that now they have something which works even better, and convince you that you never did succeed in improving the way they promised last time.

20

As well as keeping the commoners “entertained” whilst the “elite” make out like bandits before the next depression/recession/economic downturn and then keeping them preoccupied with other morons so they don’t fully realise to what extent the “elite” have robbed them blind.