Tagline: i'm lovin' it
The largest chain of fast food restaurants in the world McDonald's, was born in America in 1948 from a small restaurant opened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald (Richard and Maurice McDonald) in San Bernardino, California (San Bernardino, California). The cafe for motorists began to generate income, the business developed successfully, and the brothers had more and more new ideas, not allowing them to stop there. The appearance of the restaurant was well thought out: a sloping roof, a combination of red and white colors in the decoration, two yellow arches on the sides of the building, the image became recognizable, which was very important for attracting customers. The main idea of the restaurant, which distinguished it from all others, was that mass production methods were introduced into the process of preparing and serving food. Having borrowed from the industry the "Ford" principle of labor organization, i.e. putting on the assembly line and automating all possible processes, limiting the menu to only the most popular dishes, the owners turned the restaurant into a mini-factory for the production of "fast" food. A well-thought-out production technology that excludes any creativity, the absence of waiters, the automation of basic technologies, of course, permanently alienated McDonald`s from cozy restaurants with a romantic atmosphere, but also brought them to the leaders of fast food eateries. Another advantage of automation was the ability to reduce the price of food and drinks.
But the world would never have known about McDonald's if the appearance in the life of the McDonald brothers of a man who saw the future in their small restaurant. Ray Kroc became such a financial genius at McDonald`s. Actually, the emergence of McDonald`s, as we know it now, is associated with his name. Ray Kroc was an entrepreneur who successfully sold several milkshake mixers to the McDonald Brothers restaurant. Deciding that opening another restaurant, and then another and another, will help sell more mixers, a smart seller pays a visit to the owners of the restaurant and proposes the idea of spreading a chain of restaurants, creating a franchise. We do not know what the three Americans were talking about, but the mixers were safely forgotten, and the franchise idea began to slowly but surely come to life. The idea was simple: everyone who wanted to open a McDonald´s restaurant had to pay Ray Kroc about a thousand dollars, and then 1.9% of the annual profit, part of this money was deducted to the McDonald brothers. In addition to the appearance and system of equipment, a detailed description of all processes was provided to the buyer, and a person was sent to new restaurants to conduct training for all restaurant employees.
After founding McDonald's Corporation, Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955. The new style of the restaurant successfully fit into the style of the post-war years in America, a nation traveling in cars and preferring fast food could not help but appreciate the good idea, restaurants simply asked to be on the sides of highways and in the residential areas of one-story American towns.
In 1961, Ray Kroc buys the business from the McDonald brothers and becomes its full owner. Such a step officially consolidates the already existing state of affairs: Dick and Mac McDonald were not interested in promoting a chain of restaurants, they were quite happy to be the owners of one successful establishment, and the idea of opening McDonald's first in every state of America, and then in every city in the world was carried away only Ray Kroc. Today, his dream is close to being realized, it is difficult to find a city where there would be no McDonald's restaurant, in America itself and around the world outside the United States, McDonald's establishments are similar and recognizable.
The golden arches of McDonald's became recognizable and in 1962, united into the letter "M", they appeared on the company logo created by Jim Schindler, later in 1968 the name McDonald's was added to the logo. In advertisements, the call appeared: "Look for the Golden Arches" - "Look for the golden arches." Today, the McDonald´s logo is perceived only as a stylized "M" from the name of the company, no one associates it with the two arches, the symbol of restaurants in the early years of their appearance. The gold "M" on a red background has become for the whole world a symbol of Americanization and the spread of the American way of life. Since 2009, the company has been rebranding and changing the usual red color to green. Now the golden arches on dark green will apparently symbolize the company's new approach to ecology and its desire to keep up with the times.
In 1963, the clown Ronald McDonald, who migrated from the television show “Bozo the Clown”, was added to the recognizable images of the company in 1963. His task was to attract children and adolescents. How ethical it is to instill loyalty to the fast food chain in children remains a matter of debate. The history of McDonald's is full of such controversial moments: the quality of the initial products is subjected to detailed scrutiny, the very idea of "fast food" is severely criticized, in many countries there are opponents of the spread of the American way of life that symbolizes McDonald's. Despite all the attacks, the chain of eateries is developing rapidly and for many has become a symbol of quality, cleanliness and excellent service.
