In an interesting PR move for the fast food giant, McDonald’s has released a video showing why the burgers displayed in its advertising look so different to those actually sold in stores.
As consumers become more aware of the tricks and gimmicks used by food companies to buy their products, McDonald’s Canada has decided transparency is a good move.
The video shows the burger being taken apart and reassembled so that all the ingredients are clearly visible in the advertising.
The appearance of melting cheese is created by a hot iron, and the sauce is carefully placed by a syringe.
The burger perfected by a photographer and food stylist is compared to a Quarter Pounder purchased in a store, and the differences are obvious.
While on the surface, the video is lifting the lid – or seeded bun – on how McDonald’s uses a few tricks to make the food look better, when you dig deeper, their intentions become more obvious.
The tricks that food companies use to make their products look delicious are well known in the industry; everything from nailing pizza to a board, putting marbles in a soup can to make the pasta float to the top and replacing whipped cream with shaving cream to get better peaks went on for years.
The rules surrounding advertising of food products have become more restrictive, but companies all still use some kind of trickery in their ads.
The interesting part of the McDonald’s video is that nothing that is not actually on the burger is placed on the burger used for advertising.
“I think it’s important to note that all the ingredients that Noah [food stylist] uses are the exact same ingredients we use in the restaurant,” Marketing Manager Hope Bagozzi says in the video.
Also interesting is Bagozzi declaring within the first minute, when purchasing a real burger from an outlet, that it is “hot and fresh.”
So, is it a clever marketing ruse in itself, for McDonald’s to proclaim it is being transparent, when there is far more going on under the surface?
You be the judge. Check out the video below.
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