Race Relations in your advertising

There’s really a thin line between acknowledging a segmented group that you do business with dignity, and obliterating your trust within that segment.

365 Black

I ran across this McDonalds sponsored website on a satire site that was poking fun of fast food salads and people who think they’re somehow healthy at you. The site 365Black.com pushes a complete appreciation of the Black community, from its business owners/partners, to its customers, to the culture of the community.

I had noticed the targeting about 9 months ago when I was watching ads it really seemed like I never could spot a white person in commercials (I’ve seen a few since) anecdotal evidence isn’t really sufficient for me to be basing any blog posts on. Having seen this site though I can say it does appear that targeting this demographic is part of the agenda for McDonalds.

Impact on Primary segment

Unfortunately, McDonalds doesn’t really have the same wholesome health conscious image that maybe Subway (still not sure this is remotely healthy) has been able to portray. The fact they’ve been targeting a specific segment then comes under fire due to considerations about why they’re targeting this market.

Seeing articles like this show me that the marketplace has noticed and may not be that happy about it:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/375154/how_mcdonalds_targets_the_urban_market.html

http://www.qaadironline.com/apps/forums/topics/show/1882219-why-does-mc-donalds-target-black-people-

http://www.aachac.org/healthfactsheets/diabetes.html

Given the problems facing the community such as heart disease and diabetes and the fact that fastfood is considered to be a risk factor/causal agent by many, this segmentation and outreach program may be missing its intended mark and damaging McDonald’s credibility within the community.

Impact on Other Segments

Its always understandable when you leave a customer segment behind, a product just can’t be all things to all people. Unfortunately this can create friction with other segments who feel they’re being ignored. There’s no Asian 365 or White 365 etc. how does this make people feel who are a part of those demographics who also are valued customers for McDonalds? Does it send the message that maybe this establishment doesn’t cater to or respect their needs?

Conclusion

I’m always a bit alarmed by race in advertising. I think that the focus should be brought back to the individual and not so much emphasis should be made on what someone is. McDonald’s could have just kept the “Im lovin’ it” jingle, the celebrity endorsements like Michael Jordan, and left race out of it. The interesting thing is that approach worked for so many years, why change it now?