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Feeling warm, comfy, stomach-full, and incredibly brand-loyal after wolfing down your midnight order of Pizza McPuffs and McChicken double order? Well, hold on to that for a while. Because our unique cross-examination of your favourite fast food brand of choice isn’t quite over yet.
Fast food chains have shaped the way the world eats, with brands like McDonald’s leading the charge. Whether you’re craving a quick meal or a childhood nostalgia trip with a Happy Meal, McDonald’s has long been synonymous with convenience and affordability. But behind the golden arches lies a complex, and at times, controversial story. In this two-part series, we dive into the reality of McDonald’s—a brand that claims to care about its customers but is often riddled with accusations of unethical practices. Welcome to part two.
In part one, we analyzed the everlasting popularity and the everlasting notoriety of McDonald’s and its commercial pièce de résistance: The Happy Meal. We explored both its origins, as well as its complicated history and public perceptions throughout the decades in the food business. We explored its hyper-successful but hyper-polarizing nature in the global marketplace.
In part two, it’s time to go a bit deeper and take a glimpse inside McDonald’s and how it’s run in the modern era. Let’s pull back the curtain and examine how McDonald’s operations today are riddled with issues that go beyond just a questionable menu. The company is struggling to create good products, be a responsible employer, create customer satisfaction, and maintain ethical business practices. And it seems to be completely oblivious to the damaging long-term consequences that often arise as a result. What’s even more alarming is that McDonald’s appears oblivious to the damaging long-term consequences this could lead to.
Let’s explore how below.
Honesty is not the ‘best’ policy
For an international global brand that supposedly is 100% “consumer-centric”, McDonald’s seems to only walk the walk. In 2014, it promised changes to its service model to create a world-class customer experience that delivers an ‘unparalleled convenience’. However, by 2024, it was officially reported to have the lowest customer satisfaction score among all the major fast-food restaurants.
You can’t exactly blame customers for being skeptical when what McDonald’s promises in glossy ads doesn’t match the experience in-store. This dubious distinction isn’t completely unearned. It’s difficult to build customer loyalty when doubts linger about shrinking Happy Meal portions. Apart from that, customers have also been wary about the declining quality of nutrition in every new iteration of the Happy Meal or any new product that it puts out.
McDonald’s is no stranger to going on the PR offensive of course. In 2018, It bragged about how its food was officially qualified as ‘healthy’ by the UK watchdog. However, in the years since then McDonald’s has repeatedly been featured globally among the unhealthiest fast food companies in the world; more so in 2024. Most infamously, it was featured in Yahoo’s list of the ‘unhealthiest fast food restaurants of 2024’.
McDonald’s may publicly claim that it loves and respects its customers, but with dubious honours like this; even their most loyal customers have begun to ask serious questions. We doubt they will be answered anytime soon.
Globalization….or exploitation?
While McDonald’s may have struggled to maintain customer trust, the company’s issues run even deeper when we look at how it treats its employees. McDonald’s self-prides itself on being one of the largest employers across the private sectors across the globe. It parrots the famous buzzword “glocalization” as proof of how it integrates itself into the countries, cultures, and communities across the globe; builds products specifically for them; and creates employment and opportunities. All of that sounds good on paper.
The reality is a different thing, however. McDonald’s has been called out multiple times for underpaying and exploiting its employees. Shockingly, it has also been open and brazen about using child labor. In 2023, it was found to be in direct violation of child labour laws in the United States. Infamously, the company openly puts out hiring ads for 14-15-year-olds and is known to often work them overtime. Normalizing child labour? You can’t put it past this company.
In 2014, McDonald’s was the centerpiece of the biggest strike among fast food workers in US history. Dubbed the “Fight for 15”, it highlighted the need to raise minimum wage to $15, to make . This movement spread across the US, and was legitimized by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) giving it official support. It raised a massive spotlight on the company’s treatment of employees.
Outside the US, conditions are even worse. Saudi McDonald’s workers have notably compared the work environment to ‘be like jail’. In Australia, workers are pretty much treated as disposable as…well, a McDonald’s Happy Meal; with their ridiculous ‘learn and churn’ policy (damn, those buzzwords!). McDonald’s also loves classic ultra-crony-capitalistic moves like busting workers’ unions and the amount of sexual harassment cases against it only seems to grow over time worldwide.
In New Zealand, McDonald’s finally lost a battle in the war of capitalistic exploitation. After being successfully sued by workers for unpaid wages, the company had to roll out full-scale compensation. It’s a rare victory in an otherwise grim story of worker exploitation and mistreatment from a brand that loves to portray itself as family-friendly.
PR disasters that never end
Other companies learn and grow from their mistakes and in-house PR disasters. McDonald’s is the complete opposite. It makes more mistakes.
McDonald’s seems to have a unique talent for landing in hot water. From being publicly called out by the London Greenpeace Group in 1986 for destroying the environment, to being sued by employees in Virginia for racism, McDonald’s has the reputation of a comic-book villain the corporate world.
The company simply radiates dishonesty. In 2001, it came under fire for ‘beefing its fries’—that’s right, secretly adding beef extract to its fries, including those in Happy Meals. And that’s just one incident.
Several of McDonald’s advertising campaigns have also turned into outright disasters. Most notoriously, the attempt to go viral with the hashtag #McDStories backfired spectacularly. Instead of a wave of positive customer experiences, the hashtag sparked a deluge of angry online tweets that thousands of viewers recounted about their negative experiences, embarrassing the company. And who could forget the infamous ads in India, which were accused of objectifying women, further tarnishing McDonald’s image?
The embarrassing public gaffes are sometimes too ironic and hilarious and make for instant internet fodder. Case in point, when McDonald’s employees publicly begged the company to cancel ‘Adult Happy Meals’. Yes, before you think this is Orwellian satire: it is true that grown-ass adults were pestering them about getting poor-quality toys in their orders. The media, of course, had a field day of headlines and public mockery of the company.
McDonald’s attempts at globalization and cultural integration have been…mixed at best (this is us being kind). It often manages to cross cultural boundaries and offend various global communities without even trying. Many will recall the infamous 2002 lawsuit where it had to pay the Hindu community $10 million, after it was found out lacing its french fries with beef. But its operations outside the US also continue to drop the ball.
In 2019, it was caught red handed selling halal meat in India. In China, McDonald’s was openly called out for using ‘tainted meat’ in its products. In Israel, it issues a tone deaf message of support to soldiers by sending them ‘happy meals’ during the Gaza attacks (can’t believe it, right?). They had to eventually recall this embarrassing corporate messaging, but the damage was already done.
It’s actually scary that the well-paid professionals of McDonald’s R&D department can’t seem to do their jobs properly. But then again we’re not sure that department even exists. We have a strange suspicion the company makes all its outlet staff do all their corporate communications and research instead. But then again maybe not, because it would probably be more competent than their usual standards.
Toy (horror) story
It’s one thing to sell a product of questionable repute with a sense of brash, sociopathic confidence. But it’s completely another to screw that up as well. Yes, that’s right. Believe it or not, McDonald’s can’t even get the “free toy” part of the Happy Meal right.
They have often been caught red-handed selling poor-quality toys that can pose a health risk to kids. In 2014, shockingly, the Happy Meal toys based on ‘Hello Kitty’ were officially identified as a health risk, when it was found that children could possibly choke on them. It led to around 2.3 million of them being recalled, as course correction.
McDonald’s “Minions” toy line was accused of potential obscenity from certain customer groups in 2023 (believe it or not). This was just the latest in a long line of fiascos. In 2010, their “Shrek” themed cups were also publicly recalled after being found unsafe by parent groups and communities. They have been repeatedly criticized for their continuous use of hard plastics in toys; but it was only until intense scrutiny in 2020-21 when they started taking it seriously.
As of 2025, McDonald’s reports that the toys are now made from more ‘sustainable plastics’. Which is a good sign. However, only time will tell whether they can maintain their promises, or if this is just another empty PR offensive. One thing’s for sure though. Nobody would be surprised if the latter turns out to be the case.
The Happy Meal toys also have a noted history of screwing up their brand/media partnerships and collaborations. Parent groups have directly accused them of spoiling the end of the Sonic The Hedgehog movie. And most famously, the company’s corporate interference regarding toys is also stated to be the change in direction of the Batman film franchise in the late 80s-early90s.
Indirectly, they have been noted to be one of the main reasons that got Tim Burton and Michael Keaton fired from the Batman franchise. Don’t believe us? Watch this video below.
Playing Devil’s Advocate
While it’s easier to crucify McDonald’s for its sins than Jesus (it’s a joke), let’s all remember that there is always an alternate perspective to everything. As the Batman villain Two-Face would tell you: “There are always two sides to a coin.”
Are there good things about McDonald’s? Absolutely. For once, it’s low prices and easy availability provides great options for students, families, office workers, and anyone with hectic schedules looking for a quick bite. The customer support is also fairly responsive and always accessible. As long as you know what you’re getting; you always get what you pay for. In that sense, it is reliable. In fact, as we mentioned before; it’s the reason why it got so popular: It’s the everyman’s brand.
However, unless McDonalds decided to clean up its act, it will never be an ‘aspirational brand’; like most companies aspire to create for the global consumer.There are too many skeletons in its closet. While you can’t wash away the sins of the past; you can start absolving them by correcting your mistakes.
If McDonald’s treats employees better, creates better products, stops lying to the public, participates in ethical business and marketing practices–it can win back that extra bit of trust from consumers it desperately needs. It can also get the media target off his back.
While it’s hard to get all of them right; it should at least get some of them right. That’s what McDonald’s needs to do. As the consumer environment grows more demanding by the day; the scrutiny on fast food industries continues to increase. McDonald’s global sells fell a record three-year low in 2024. It’s clear that it needs to transform and evolve; or it will suffer in the current business environment. It’s finally time for the company to wake up.
What are your opinion? Do you agree with out sentiments, or are you too busy chomping down McChicken nuggets as you ignore the fitbit calorie warnings on your smartwatch? Let us know in the comments below!
And if you love doing your own bit of investigation and covering well, truths, write to us at [email protected]
