McDonald's Is More Than Just a Fast Food Chain

McDonald’s, the world's biggest fast-food chain, is known for many things. Bringing family together, however, isn’t one of the first things that come to mind. Yet, the advertisement “McDonald's - Taste of Home” effectively brings up a sense of nostalgia for family and utilizes that sentiment to demonstrate that families can be connected even if they aren’t physically together. 

The video follows a young woman living in a city far away from her family. At the time of the video, it is Chinese New Year, a celebration where families gather and spend time together. However, the subject cannot be with her family and has to spend Chinese New Year alone.  She decides to eat at McDonalds, where she experiences family reunion even though her family is far away. 

Through the use of imagery, symbolism, and juxtaposition, McDonald's creates an emotional connection with individuals living in English-speaking Asian countries like Singapore, positioning itself as more than just a fast food chain but as a brand that can provide priceless memories and reunions for families during Chinese New Year through their Prosperity Burger.

(0:00-0:03) The advertisement starts with the protagonist texting her sister and exchanging messages regarding the Chinese New Year celebrations. The imagery of these text bubbles signifies that the subject of the ad and the person with whom she is communicating are separated. Before the viewer even reads the content of the text messages, the images of the text bubbles suggest to the viewer that the subject is apart from those she cares most about. Considering the messages are in English, the target audience is likely Asian regions with a significant English-speaking population, like Hong Kong or Singapore. Additionally, the text indicates that the EXIGENCY of this advertisement is that the subject is away from her family during Chinese New Year when they should be reuniting.

(0:09-0:18)

In this scene, the prominent yellow color of the subject’s clothes symbolizes power, royalty, and prosperity in Chinese culture. By dressing the subject in this color, the ad suggests that the McDonald’s brand shares similar cultural values to those of Chinese and East Asian cultures. Yellow is one of the principal colors of McDonald's, and dressing the subject in this color reminds the audience of the brand, visually linking the subject to the brand.

(0:18-0:28)

In this frame of the advertisement, the text message “something’s missing” represents a concession where the subject acknowledges that eating a McDonald’s prosperity burger is not enough to make her feel the family connection she is missing. This concession suggests that McDonald’s, as a brand, is not bold enough to think that its food alone can replicate the experience of being with family. 

McDonald’s use of a highly symbolic color and its concession that its food alone may not substitute family demonstrates the brand’s appeal to Chinese culture and that appeal’s limitation, thereby making McDonald’s seem to be a culturally sensitive brand that deserves the viewer's trust.

(0:28-0:33)

The red color of the sister’s skirt in the Facetime video also symbolizes luck in Chinese culture. Dressing the sister in this color implies that the sister’s presence is a source of luck and comfort for the subject, highlighting the strong bond between siblings. Red is the other principal color of McDonald’s brand, further linking the subjects in the ad to the brand, just as the yellow sweater did. The red color further suggests how McDonald’s shares values with Chinese culture, making the brand appear culturally sensitive and deserving of the viewers’ trust. 

In response to the subject’s text saying, “Something’s missing,” the sister facetimes the subject and asks, “Is it the same now?” This question may not seem rhetorical until the image of the subject’s happy tears while smiling confirms that whatever was missing no longer is. The subject experiences a happy “family reunion” while eating her Prosperity Burger at McDonald’s. Although, as mentioned earlier, eating the McDonald’s burger was not enough to make her feel the family connection she is missing, that problem is now solved because the family is reunited by eating the McDonald’s prosperity burger even if they are not physically together. As this is the only spoken line throughout the advertisement, it leaves a lasting impact, emphasizing that McDonald’s can help replicate the experience of being with family during the holidays. This suggested answer to the rhetorical question makes the viewer feel relieved and happy that physical distance and separation can be overcome by eating at McDonald’s.

This feeling of overcoming distance and separation is reinforced with the closing tagline, “come home to,” followed by the McDonald’s logo and jingle.