Billboard Advertising: Reeling in the Customer off the Streets

We see Billboards like this all the time. What is making us submit to these companies through advertising?

 

The fast food industry has developed and changed dramatically over the past few decades, as increased advertising has been used to draw in the customers needed for restaurants to succeed. Increased ads through different media, such as television, radio, and print, all serve to catch the eye and ear of the potential customers. However, if these people are sitting around at home, they may not be as likely to get up and drive to that particular restaurant, making a specific trip out because of an ad that has played.

In rural areas and big cities, there has been a major push on billboard advertising to appease to the eyes of the enormous amount of commuters that are taking to the streets every day to reach work, school, or events that they may attend. These billboards are colourful and simple, instilling in the mind of the consumer, “buy me.” After a long day at work, or heading home from a week at the cottage, why not grab a Big Mac, and re-enter the comfort of society by stimulating your taste buds (all 10,000 of them).

The world’s biggest fast food chain, McDonalds, attracts customers off the streets through simple ads, capturing the viewer’s empty stomach and reeling them in. Attached to every Golden Arch remains a count of the number of hamburgers they have served. To date, they have lost count, as now the signs read, "Billions and Billions.” So why do people keep coming back, in a health conscious society worried about clogged arteries and heart attacks? Quite simply, McDonalds knows how to advertise, and they do it well. Attaching themselves to the world’s biggest events, such as the Olympic Games, and the FIFA World Cup, billboards go up advertising their food along with the biggest athletes and stars currently making headlines.

In his article, “Masters of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising,” Jack Solomon draws parallels with the increasingly upbeat ads appearing in the “feel-good Reagan eighties,” and the triumphs of America in the cold war, but specifically through sports. Every Olympic Games, commercials come on to support our athletes, who probably have not eaten at a McDonalds since they began training for the games. Billboards follow suit, usually associating products with prizes, such as a Gold “Big Mac” Medal, or ChickenNuggets completing a triple axel. These ads convey the message, in Solomon’s eyes, of consumers living the fantasy of competing in the games for their country. By associating the Big Mac as the ultimate prize, McDonalds is playing on the fantasy of customers being victorious every time they eat their sandwich. In reality, they are falling victim to the corporate enterprise.

Along with the triumphs of a nation comes increasing patriotism, as suddenly everyone is proud of their roots and where they come from. Solomon describes this as “particularly effective,” as home grown products tend to do better in their region, instilling an idea that the customers are supporting local business by purchasing said product. At the top of the table, McDonalds can focus on exploiting communities for their products they produce, such as beef, potatoes, and produce. McDonalds has run billboards to emphasize the importance of buying local, stating that the potatoes they use are grown in a nearby community, and sold locally. These signs capture the passer-byer, reeling them in to support locally grown fries and burgers. These billboards specifically target the local community, pulling in the customers in the region. In reality, McDonalds is a global juggernaught in the fast food business, selling the same products in Washington State as they would Ontario, New York City and Paris, France.

But in a society where the Big Mac rules supreme, surely there are competitors who need to compete and attack in order to sell their sandwiches. While McDonalds casually (yet aggressively) draws their customers back, other chains go on the attack, persuading McDonald’s loyalists away from their usual eatery and to them.  Pete Barry describes this in his book, The Advertising Concept Book, as expanding the market, which is essential for the competition losing sales to the top companies. Burger King frequently competes with McDonalds, citing that their signature sandwich, the Whopper, is much bigger than the Big Mac. Burger King attempts to draw in their customers this way, hoping to persuade onlookers that McDonalds wimpy sandwich will leave them unsatisfied, hungry, and kicking themselves for not “Having it their way.”

Fast food chains are constantly reeling in customers off the streets thanks to the use of billboard advertising. They are able to capture the attention of the viewer for only a second or two, yet with a simple design and clever slogans, will remain in their thoughts for the entire day. With majestic images of burgers stacked sky high (in the sky) and golden fries spilling out of boxes, customers take to the drive-thru to satisfy their hunger needs.

Images courtesy of Google Images.