mcdonalds now just a quarter pounder, in japan



McDonalds is doing some weird stuff in Japan. They've opened two new stores - called Quarter Pounder. No golden arches. No McDonalds name.

There are two things on the menu: A quarter pounder and a double quarter pounder. The stores were opened with some attempted fanfare, a fake secret service type security guard and "Top Secret" signs.

The store design looks beautiful, and the graphics and package design are equally well designed - a departure from the poor/cheap/please everyone design that MCD's is known for elsewhere.

New micro retail concept? Marketing stunt? Only that freaky red headed clown knows for sure.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Secret testbed for an In-N-Out Burger competitor? (Eg. Limited menu)

elo said...

This is so weird, especially since I was just reading about McDonald's on Dr. Tantillo's marketing blog, where he praises McD for being so flexible and adapting to demand but prefaced this with: "The big things about McDonald’s cosmetic image (i.e., colors, designs, clown mascot) have never essentially changed. Neither has the basic serving and restaurant setup."
Guess they are even more flexible than though.. Tantillo's full post

And actually I guess cultivating this sort of aesthetic is in line with their move to diversify their holdings (they own a significant portion of Chipotle, or did last I knew) and expand/diversify their customer base (Ex. their 'unsnobby coffee' campaign. Tantillo did a post on
Starbucks/Dunkin' Donuts mentioning McDonald's coffee, too.

(Last I knew, In-N-Out didn't even sell its franchises outside of CA/AZ area..)

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