McDonald’s Has New Bags So Nobody Has To Know You Ate There

Just last week, fast food giant McDonald’s unveiled a new advertising campaign designed to emphasize the “love” aspects of their famous “I’m Lovin’ It” slogan. And now we begin another new week with the restaurant chain attempting an image makeover by altering the look of their take-out bag. The new approach seems to suggest that people are ashamed to be seen eating anything that comes from the Golden Arches.

Courtesy of Flickr

For decades now, McDonald’s has used colorful take-out bags that clearly declared where the food inside of them came from. But the new bags are very minimalist, even plain, with nothing but a B6NUGPJIYAEdf2e
muted hamburger graphic on the side and no text to identify where the bag might have originated. Ronald McDonald, borrowing from the U.S. military, has decided to go stealth.

All of these changes are being made by the iconic chain in an attempt to revive flagging sales, which were down dramatically in 2014. But it led me to wonder, Are we so worried about what others?think about our eating habits that we now need plausible deniability when it comes to where we ate lunch? ?If so, perhaps Mickey D’s can subcontract with the CIA and NSA to develop a bag which self-destructs moments after the contents have been removed, a la “Mission Impossible.” Then we can truly deny all knowledge of our love for fast food.

Do I find all of this a bit ridiculous, even fatuous (pun intended)? Well yes, I certainly do. But in light of the phenomenal increases in obesity and diabetes rates in the United States over the past decade, wouldn’t it make more sense for restaurants such as McDonald’s to “love” us by making their food healthier? Instead, they have decided to pat us on the head, tell us they love us, and then hand us their product in a plain bag so our guilt can be assuaged.

It’s far too early to know if these largely cosmetic changes will draw more hungry people to McDonald’s, but one thing is certain: the “love” they’re selling is obviously a love that dare not be seen in public.


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I had a successful career actively working with at-risk youth, people struggling with poverty and unemployment, and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. In 2011, I made the decision to pursue my dreams and become a full-time writer. Connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.