Semiotic Diagnosis of McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s

Background Information

McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s were founded in the USA, 1954. Hungry Jack’s however, is Burger King in the USA. Both brands advanced into the Australian market in 1971 (Burger King 2020; Hungry Jack’s 2020; McDonald’s 2020).

McDonald’s

Advertisement’s Key Message + Brand Narrative

This past summer, McDonald’s brought back the El Maco range and encouraged consumers to choose McDonald’s these summer holidays.The message of the advertisement is however, a sub-message to McDonald’s overall brand narrative. McDonald’s functions as both a dine-in and drive-thru restaurant. Their exterior however, has recently altered whereby writing McDonald’s is no longer necessary as the golden arches are a recognisable enough physical attribute of the brand. But, brand narrative is ‘also affected by the personalities of specific product categories’ (Puzakova, Kwak & Bell 2015, p. 222). Fast food typically means unhealthy but McDonald’s focuses on being a sincere family oriented brand. For example, the Ronald McDonald House Charities mission is ‘to support the ever-changing needs of seriously ill children and their families’ (RMHC 2020, para 1).

Four Semiotic Signs to Express Brand Narrative

Family + Drive Thru

This iconic expression whereby the signifier is the mum, dad, son and daughter is signified as a family going out. The denotative meaning is that the family is making a stop for food. The sign’s connotative meaning demonstrates McDonald’s desire to be family-oriented . They’re comfortable, reliable and have been with you your whole life. From getting toys with happy meals to hosting birthday parties, McDonald’s builds an attachment with its customers from a young age. Furthermore, this advertisement takes place in the drive thru. Denotatively, the family have chosen take-out over dine-in. Connotatively, McDonald’s expresses reliability; serving food in a timely manner will allow for more family time.

Dialogue + El Maco is Back-o

The dialogue is used to push the connotative meaning of family further. The signifier is the dad attempting to speak Spanish; signified as an element of humour. The denotative meaning is that the dad attempts to order in spanish but doesn’t say what he thinks he’s saying thus eliciting a laugh. But, the connotation of this is that the El Maco is for anyone. Furthermore, the sign El Maco is Back-o is signified as the slogan for this campaign. Denotatively it is used as a method to ensure people remember the ad. The mexican name is also seen as a myth as the name is given an Aussie spin so that it is palatable for Australian consumers.

Cross-Cultural Context

McDonald’s takes a customisation approach in some parts of the globe in order to ‘promote home country image to influence brand choice decisions among host country consumers’ (Kashif et al. 2015, p. 2347). For example, the Japanese menu incorporates Japanese cuisine. But with Australia being a multicultural nation, Australian menus may reference many cultures.

(Tonkatsu Teritama, Teritama, Cheese Teritama)

Hungry Jack’s

Advertisement’s Key Message + Brand Narrative

Hungry Jack’s functions as a dine-in and drive-thru fast food restaurant. As expressed in their logo, they specialise in burgers. Their slogan ‘the burgers are better’ expresses the feeling of grandeur and prestige. From this, their summer campaign was used to launch the Tropical Whopper. The advertisement uses the brand narrative to focus on the experience that will entail upon eating the burger.

Four Semiotic Signs to Express Brand Narrative

Surfer + Hammock

The man as a sign is indexical whereby as a signifier he is a man with blonde hair and blue eyes. Given the context of being an Australian advertisement, he is signified as a stereotypical Aussie. The connotative meaning of this however, is that he is an active individual and regular beach goer but still finds Hungry Jack’s desirable. In combination with the hammock, summer is seen as a destination. The surfer is transported to the tropics with a single bite, alluding to the possibility of having an international getaway in your own backyard.

Dialogue + Friends

The signifier is the voiceover and signified it is an accent from the tropic region. Denotatively this is a voice that could be heard internationally rather than locally. The connotative meaning connects it back to Hungry Jack’s narrative of prestige being that a burger can elicit the feeling of travel which in turn would result in hearing accents. But, being in Australia, the advertisement ties its message back to enjoying an Aussie summer. In this case the signifier is the people and the signified is that it’s a summer gathering. Breaking down this sign’s signification, denotatively it means a pool party but connotatively it means the Tropical Whopper will satisfy everyone.

Cross-Cultural Context

Similar to McDonald’s, Hungry Jack’s takes inspiration from around the globe for their Australian menu due to Australia’s multiculturalism. But, their menu is localised to reflect a health conscious persona which isn’t seen on menus elsewhere such as in the USA.

(Australia) (USA)

Brand Narrative Similarities + Differences and Findings

McDonald’s reflects their brand narrative of family first in their advertisement. Hungry Jack’s takes a more international approach to convince consumers that their food is unmatched anywhere. Both however, localised their advertisements to the Australian summer. But Rubenstein (2017) argues that clear brand identity contributes to brand recall which influences choosing one brand over its competitors. McDonald’s strong use of semiotics that reflect brand narrative makes it my favoured brand.

Word Count: 822

References:

Burger King 2020, About Us, Burger King Corporation, viewed 20 March 2020, <https://mobile.bk.com/about-bk>.

Hungry Jack’s 2020, About Hungry Jack’s, Hungry Jack’s Australia, viewed 20 March 2020, <https://www.hungryjacks.com.au/about-hj-s>.

Kashif, M, Awang, Z, Walsh, J & Altaf, U 2015, ‘I’m loving it but hating US Understanding consumer emotions and perceived service quality of US fast food brands’, British Food Journal, vol. 117, no. 9, pp. 2344-2360.

McDonald’s 2020, Macca’s Story, McDonald’s Australia, viewed 20 March 20 2020, <https://mcdonalds.com.au/about-maccas/maccas-story>.

Puzakova, M, Kwak, H & Bell, M 2015, ‘Beyond Seeing McDonald’s Fiesta Menu: The Role of Accent in Brand Sincerity of Ethnic Products and Brands’, Journal of Advertising, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 219-231.

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) 2020, About RMHC Australia, Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia, viewed 23 March 2020, <https://www.rmhc.org.au/about-us>.

Rubenstein, K 2017, ‘The Once and Future Burger King’, International Journal of Business and Economics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 205-212.