McDonald’s: Maybe evil, definitely brilliant.

McDonald’s: Maybe evil, definitely brilliant.

Lots of people hate McDonald’s and lots of people love it. But either way, none of them can deny it is being run by some kind of brilliant genius.

March 2, 2011 1:13 by shafeer

Kipp is a fan of McDonald’s. To those of you who hate the company, sorry, that’s just the way it is.

And there are plenty who do hate the global fast food giant. Some, like Kipp’s colleague, because they believe the food the company peddles should be more accurately referred to as ‘food’, and they can barely contemplate the fact that some of us like it. Others hate McDonald’s because of its business practices, or because of what it represents (Uncle Sam and the US of A), or even because of that freaky clown who always hangs around kids.

Meanwhile, for others there are reasons to admire the company. We wrote not long ago about the company’s reinvention and near perfect business strategy.

Whatever your reason for hating or lovin’ it (sorry), Kipp can say this with confidence: You must agree that there are some pretty stellar business brains behind the whole outfit.

This fact was brought to mind when we saw the company’s latest gift to the world: a new toy set where kids can role play making their very own Happy Meal. Costing around AED 350, the toy is like a drive through window, and includes plastic patties, buns, cheese slices and pickles, chicken nuggets, and desserts. The pretend deep fat fryer even makes a sizzling noise.

The people who complain about this sort of thing – obesity groups, consumer experts – are already on the case. We picked the story up in the UK’s Sun newspaper, where the paper’s doctor Carol Cooper said: “This makes kids aware of the McDonald’s brand at a vulnerable age. Obesity rates in kids have already soared – I can’t see anything fun about that.”

She’s absolutely right. McDonald’s has come up with an idea that will grab kids at an impressionable age, associate its products with fun and good times, and better yet the company is charging for it. Like we said, there is a genius behind this somewhere.

What do you think? Is McDonald’s evil? Is it brilliant? Is it both?