McDonaldization Advertising in the Context of Electronic Colonialism Theory

Abstract

Food is an important element in defining culture and can be seen to be the oldest global carrier of culture. According to William Gould's book McDonald's: Business in Action, 'before the introduction of McDonald's overseas, fast food was almost unknown. McDonald's was the first company to try to export America's love of fast food and changes in eating habits of other nations.' When taking a look at food from a cultural perspective, it should be understood how drastic changes on beliefs and consumptions of food could actually diminish some of the traditional beliefs of an entire culture. In fact, the replacement of non-traditional food over traditional food has the most detrimental effects on third-world culture traditions. This study shows how globalized western advertising - in this case McDonald advertising - has affected the Indonesian social life and values. This study also present the benefits and also the threat of value changes to the society. An important discovery of this work is the willingness of the audience to accept the changes in their social life and values.

Save as a Favourite

Author Information
Magdalena Lestari Ginting, Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia
Selvi Siregar, Pelita Harapan University, Indonesia

• Category: MediAsia2017, Virtual Presentation
• Tag: International Communication,

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

All Posts