For many years, McDonald’s has used the slogan “I’m lovin’ it.” Now they’re running an ad campaign titled “Choose Lovin” in which they will randomly select customers to “pay with lovin.” The idea is supposed to be a light-hearted gimmick to get people to do something that spreads joy or love, this could be as simple as dancing, calling a family member, or saying something a person loves about himself.
However, not everyone is feeling the lovin’. Charles Evans of Lightlybuzzed.com writes, “Why would I debase myself to dance for a dollar hamburger? It would be one thing to dance for a new car, but reformed chicken parts put in the shape of a nugget? Nope.” Many of the commenters on the article by Evans shared their lack of love for the idea, saying that McDonald’s should instead pay their workers a living wage.
I have to wonder how many of the people posting vitriol against McDonald’s for this gimmick would do the same if the same “pay with love” contest were being done by a locally owned mom-and-pop restaurant? I’d venture the answer is somewhere between few and none. But I digress.
What about the ingredients? Obviously they’re not the best thing you could put in your body, however Lilian Nwa of SavingAdvice.com writes that Chipotle and McDonald’s receive many of their ingredients from the same suppliers. Additionally, McDonald’s released some Youtube videos to show that chicken nuggets come from real chicken parts, and not some industrial “pink goop.”
And pay? Nwa writes, “McDonald’s offers better remuneration than other fast-food chains such as Burger King and Wendy’s… Even more interesting, in the San Francisco area, McDonald’s employees are paid up to $12.17 per hour compared to the industry rate of $9.07 an hour.” Even the much praised Chipotle, pays their entry-level employees less (on average) than the same employee would receive at McDonald’s. If all of the profits from McDonald’s were divided evenly to all of the employees, it would only account for a raise of approximately $1.75 per hour. However sharing all of the profits is not a good business decision, and would also mean that when the company loses money, employees would see a pay cut. How many burger flippers would sign up for that?
I’ll concede that there are some valid reasons to object to corporations and the consumerism they elicit. However, in regards to the campaign by McDonald’s to spread some love, it seems clear to me that there are a lot of people who just want to hate on big business. And to be so hateful about something designed to spread some happiness (and free food) says more about them than the ad campaign!