McDonald's has begun ramping up for the Summer Olympic Games already. For the ninth consecutive Olympic Games, McDonald's holds the ear-pleasing title of "Official Restaurant of the Olympic Games." In preparation for this summer's Games in London, the fast food chain has begun construction on 4 brand new locations in and around the event centers, including one inside of the Olympic Village where the athletes from all of the competing countries eat, sleep, and unwind. One of these 4 new locations will be, on record, the largest McDonald's to date- a two story monolith capable of serving and seating over 1500 people at any given time. Advertisements featuring fit athletes will begin airing anytime now. Feel good Olympic stories brought to you by McDonald's are right around the corner.
Here's a commercial from the 2008 Games in Beijing:
If you believe what you see, then the Olympic Village is filled to the brim with in-shape athletes who love shoving Big Macs and Value Meals down their throats. Good health and fitness go hand-in-hand with burgers and chicken patties made from food with questionable origins. It's perfectly acceptable to not only eat McDonald's food, but to also feel good about it.
But then reality kicks in and tells us it is NOT acceptable to feel good about eating McDonald's food, at least not if I'm trying to be as health and body-conscious as the average Olympian is. McDonald's has no place in the health and fitness world. And most serious Olympic athletes are probably sticking to their protein shakes and tossed green salads instead of their Quarter Pounders with cheese. How do we know all of this? We know this reality because of the sad state of obesity in our country (and the growing obesity rates in other countries). McDonald's has taught this country how to get fat, not how to prepare for an Olympic competition, or even a backyard competition!
So just what is McDonald's even doing sponsoring the Olympics in the first place? Sure, it's great on McDonald's end because it provides endless publicity to their already undisputed empire and will no doubt bring in tens of millions of dollars to the company. But what about the Olympic Games themselves? Is this really the kind of sponsor they'd like to have around? A sponsor who has encouraged multiple generations to eat cheap and quick, health be damned. A sponsor who has directly been part of the obesity problems in not only adults, but children now as well. A sponsor who'd rather see kids eat a Happy Meal than set out to be the next Olympic gold medalist. A sponsor who, if they were honest, would show an image of this kind of athlete in their advertisements instead:
And now we get to this: the problem with this sponsorship is that it doesn't seem to be a problem at all! We've grown accustomed to ill-conceived partnerships. McDonald's sponsoring the Olympics is just part of a long history of bad partnerships in modern history. Our own government partners with countries of questionable practices all the time. Companies that are known to produce their goods in foreign sweatshops partner with Boys and Girls Clubs. Some churches have partnered with violent parties and individuals to demonstratively protest abortion clinics and U.S. soldier's funerals. Many of us have partnered with the wrong spouses. Our children partner with the wrong people in school and end up doing things we never would have imagined them doing. The list goes on.
So then, maybe this McDonald's-Olympics partnership isn't so out of the ordinary after all. Maybe it's the norm because we've devalued partnerships altogether. Maybe we just partner up out of convenience instead of out of conviction and ideals.
What is the value of a partnership...and do you even think about the partnerships you are part of?
I'd love to hear your thoughts; please leave them here.
The devaluing of partnerships is prevalent, like you argue, not only with McDonald's and the Olympics, but with other partnerships that you've mentioned above. The reason, I argue, that the Olympic organization continues its partnership with McDonald's is a weak attempt to keep a dying industry afloat. We no longer live in an era where children sit around the breakfast table eating their Wheaties, with aspirations of becoming the athlete who graces their physique on the front of the cereal box. With partnering with an organization that has contributed to rise of obesity and ease the access to genetically modified food products, the Olympic organization feels that they can sacrifice their ideals in order to keep afloat, desperately grappling for some media/advertising time. When we think of partnerships, we often think of healthy relationships where both parties equally benefit, and perhaps, contribute some positive energy back into society. But what this partnership illustrates is that partnerships are made not for the benefit of all, but for some sort of instant gratification. Even if it completely contradicts a set of ideals that they were known for. It makes me take inventory of the partnerships and relationships I've developed with people: is it for the benefit of myself, the partner, or others? Thank you for the interesting post.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, and you're certainly right about this being a partnership of desperation. That is exactly what I took away from the sponsorship and I too have begun to take stock of the partnerships I've participated in. Hopefully I can become more aware of these things and choose partnerships that hold value to me vs. what is easiest/convenient for me.
ReplyDelete