# McDonald's Marketing, A Word Please **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2001, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072 "2001-07-19T17:17:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![City\_Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a87d85/32.png) [@City\_Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/City_Gent)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/21 "2001-07-22T06:18:39Z")
In the commercial for the Monopoly game, a guy and his girlfriend are eating at DcDonald’s, and the guy says “What will you choose **when** you win?” as if winning is a foregone conclusion and the only question is what prize to pick. (There is actually some fine print to the effect that you only get to pick a prize if you win, so the writers of the commercial know damn well what they’re doing.) Then, after this idiotic line, the girl starts daydreaming that she wins a computer, hooks it up to the Internet, and yells “Now I control the world!” 1. You can’t control the world with a computer, and 2. You aren’t even going to win the lousy computer So shut up and eat your miserable crudburger. ---
**Author:** ![sdimbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdimbert/32/20204_2.png) [@sdimbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdimbert)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/22 "2001-07-23T20:26:06Z")
I believe Jon Cusak used the con in question early on in the movie _The Grifters_. ---
**Author:** ![\_Uigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e9a140/32.png) [@\_Uigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Uigi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/23 "2001-07-23T21:21:21Z")
Last week I saw segment on the news (CNN, I think) which discussed American big business hopes for a profitable tie-in to the 2008 (I hope that’s correct) Olympics. At any rate, there was some stock footage that showed a mainstreet McDonalds somewhere in Beijing. There, parked atop the building was none other than an enormous Ronald McDonald in a Buddah like pose at the edge of the roof; you know, with the legs folded underneath in a sitting position, and the obligatory 😃 in all his goofy glory. I had to wonder if the locals think Mickey Ds are similarly adorned stateside. I’m certainly not Buddhist, but thought the whole thing was rather tacky and shows the MD marketing crowd to be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/24 "2001-07-23T21:38:08Z")
“In Brookvale, Canada, a man walked into a McDonald’s at 8:50am, flashed a gun and demanded cash. The clerk said she couldn’t give him money because she wasn’t allowed to open the cash register without a food order. So the thief ordered a Big Mac. The clerk explained that he couldn’t have a Big Mac, because they only serve breakfast items until 10:30am and Big Macs weren’t available yet. Frustrated at the clerk’s lack of cooperation with his criminal scheme, he walked away and left with no cash.” –[Knuckleheads in the News](http://www.harrisonline.com/knuckleheads/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2001, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/25 "2001-07-24T13:40:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > \*\*And thus, one can have ones’ $20 in one of three forms: > > A $20 bill. > Two $10 bills. > Four $5 bills. > > Folks, this is just downright pathetic. Did you even _think_ about how silly that looks?\*\* No, **John** , it’s not pathetic. It’s funny and purposely so. Sheesh! There is a reason why this place has a reputation for people who are excessively serious. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/26 "2001-07-25T12:38:10Z")
The Paper Moon scam involved two people, IIRC. Father went in to a store, bought a pack of gum or something and paid with a $20 that had written on it “Happy Birthday Addy!” Daughter went in a few minutes later, bought something and handed the woman a $5 bill. When the lady gave her $4+ in change, Addy said, “Hey! I gave you a 20 dollar bill.” The lady, of course, said, “No, honey, you gave me a 5 dollar bill.” Addy insists it was a 20 and the clerk insists it was a 5. The girl proceeds to tearfully argue the point until the manager walks up. Much to the clerk’s embarrassment, Addy accuses her of cheating her out of her birthday money. Addy wins by saying, “My aunt even wrote on it 'Happy Birthday, Addy!” And, of course, when the clerk removes the first 20, it indeed has “Happy Birthday, Addy!” written on it. ---
**Author:** ![jmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmonster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/27 "2001-07-25T14:23:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dropzone \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > > \*\*And thus, one can have ones’ $20 in one of three forms: > > > > A $20 bill. > > Two $10 bills. > > Four $5 bills. > > > > Folks, this is just downright pathetic. Did you even _think_ about how silly that looks?\*\* > > No, **John** , it’s not pathetic. It’s funny and purposely so. Sheesh! There is a reason why this place has a reputation for people who are excessively serious. 😉 \*\* Yeah, but it’s not actually funny. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2001, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072/28 "2001-07-25T17:06:05Z")
It’s “McDonalds funny,” which requires a total suspension of one’s taste and intelligence. It’s even clever when compared with the jokes on Happy Meal bags. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-marketing-a-word-please/73072.md?page=1)