Before reading the thread (to give my unbiased opinion). No, not in any way, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a McDonald’s ad that appeared to target only black people. Sure, I’ve seen black people in ads, but that’s called diversity, at least, in the advertising world.
Now let’s see if you guys can change my mind. And, all you did was convince me that they run different ads in different locations.
Church’s Chickens, in the northern United States at least, are located almost exclusively in majority-black city neighborhoods. In the South they are more evenly dispersed and I have seen them in rural areas too.
That seems a pretty patronising view: that black people are so naive they’ll fall for the White Man’s evil marketing ploys.
I’m in the Pittsburgh area which has a pretty good mix of blacks and whites. I’ve noticed more black people and other minorities in television commercials in general. I don’t think McDonalds advertising is targeted disportionately towards black people, there have been plenty of ads lately with whites in them. It might just stand out a little more because of the lack of black people in their ads previously.
I would also question the claim that black people have a larger percentage of obesity than white people, and black people eat at McDonalds more than white people. I don’t think either of these things is true (based on my observation).
Black Americans are 51% more likely to be obese than white non-Hispanic Americans and white Hispanic Americans are 21% more likely to be obese than white non-Hispanic Americans:
The higher obesity rate of African Americans is rather well-established fact. Latino obesity rates are even higher, and the highest of all are American Indian. This is because of poverty and the utter lack of convenient nutritious food options in many urban (and some rural) communities. The neighborhood I work in, which has one of the highest poverty rates in the country, indicates obesity in 65% of (mostly minority) adults and about half of children. The neighborhood has about ten fast food restaurants and a single grocery store, which smells of rotting meat from the second you walk in the door. There is some produce but it’s hardly fresh and the store is jam-packed with processed foods. I couldn’t get outta there fast enough.
According to random google searching on the internet, over half of McDonald’s employees are minorities, which would suggest that they probably do disproportionately serve African Americans.
I’ve been leery of McDonald’s target marketing to African-Americans (or minorities in general?) for a few years now. It’s not a case of “all black commercials all the time,” but a bunch of smaller things. I’m not sure why it bugs me; for some reason the phrase “preying on” seems to spring to mind more than “marketing to.”
Maybe I just really don’t like McDonald’s.
olivesmarch4th writes:
> . . . Latino obesity rates are even higher . . .
Cite? My citation says that there’s more obesity among blacks than among Hispanics. It could, of course, be wrong, but I’d like to see your citation.
I live in a primarily latino area, and let’s just say that, at 30 pounds ‘normal middle-aged woman overweight’, I’m the skinny one. I wouldn’t say it’s a higher rate of obesity than other areas, just that heaviness in general, amongst men or women, is considered normal in this community.
And I have no idea what McD’s is targetting these days, since the ads I see are in spanish half the time. And ALL their billboards are, lol. But hey, that’s the area I live in. It’s expected.
Part of the thing that bugs me is that the minority-focused marketing started around the same time McDonald’s started trying to be “upscale” with redesigned stores, McCafe drinks, nicer uniforms, etc.
The timing may have been coincidence, but something about it read to me as, “instead of being cheap food to white people, we’re gonna be fancy to black people.” I’m reading to much into it, I’m sure, but it seemed like a big bundle of condescension.
Black people lack the willpower and education to resist greasy fast food? 
I’m kidding mostly but come on, give some credit!
A company the size of McDonalds always has a large department which researches the demographics of its customers. It knows surprisingly accurately the proportions of each race, sex, income level, age group, etc. of its customers. It adjusts its marketing and the mix of its products being sold to maximize its profit for that demographic mix. It may from time to time try to change its demographic profile to make the company more profitable. All this demographic knowledge and planning is usually proprietary information within the company and thus not available to the public. I know that we all like to think of ourselves as sui generis, so that a company couldn’t possibly know what we are buying, but the fact is that we’re not. Like it or not, there are many companies out there that are manipulating us.
Eh, I might have got the two reversed. Neither is a good situation, in any case.
There is no question that SOME McDonald’s advertising, and certain select McDonald’s foods, are aimed at specific ethnic groups. The McRib sandwich (which isn’t always available) has always been marketed primarily to black customers.
Beyond that, even if you hate McDonald’s and what you think it represents, it’s worth noting: in many inner city neighborhoods, McDonald’s is one of the few businesses offering any kind of legal, paying jobs. McDonald’s also provides the only clean, safe playgrounds for little kids.
For those reasons, McDonald’s has earned some real loyalty in many black communities.
Eh? Whatever gave you the idea that McDonalds is targeting black people? 
I agree with you actually. For many people in poor neighborhoods who don’t have easy access to a grocery store, lack the time or resources to cook at home, etc. it would make sense to just go to the nearby McDonald’s (or equivalent) and order something from the Dollar Menu.
I believe that there are also some issues with obesity among “poor white trash” types. I was actually surprised when I went to Atlantic Canada to see all the fat white guys - I didn’t really realize how poor many of the people are.