#719. McDonald's Celebrating Halloween

There is a time and place that is now but an epoch of history, forever enshrined in the history books as an era of oppression, persecution and cultural hegemony fostered upon venerable Black people who were mere unwitting subjects to this endless parade of supremacy: Pre-Obama America.

Enshrined in the images of the 1950s, this America of yesteryear was 90 percent white (1964) and in dire need of an injection of diversity, so a new people were imported to interact with the Black minority that was trying to assimilate themselves.

It is safe to state that the new term introduced to the vernacular in this country – Whitopia – would have been severely out of place in Pre-Obama America, for the nation as a whole was a Whitopia. Yes, the United States was once a Whitopia from sea to shining sea and this foolishness had to come to an end.

In this world of yore, a date existed on the calendar that all children looked forward too, for October 31 offered the opportunity for kids to collect free candy by going door to door in their neighborhoods.

This adventure into the Whitopia was an exercise in what Robert Putnam would eventually deride as now extinct due to the diversity we now have, which had to replace the evil oppression of the past:

“At the same time, though, Putnam's work adds to a growing body of research indicating that more diverse populations seem to extend themselves less on behalf of collective needs and goals.”

Halloween is a holiday for communities and can only be celebrated in areas of the country that are safe for children to travel in packs. Trust has to exist from household to household, so that doors can be opened and treats dispensed to costume-adorned children, whom could harbor tricks if the offerings aren’t satisfactory.

Once, a company found it imperative to work hand in hand with Whitopia’s across the increasingly Balkanizing United States to ensure that the families who frequented the restaurant would feel an attachment to the community, and continue to indulge in the food served under the Golden Arches.

Yes, we are talking about McDonald’s, a company that has served billions the world over, but got its start in the Whitopia that once was America:

“The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald's restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers' equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion and the company became listed on the public stock markets in 1965. Kroc was also noted for aggressive business practices, compelling the McDonald brothers to leave the fast food industry.

The McDonald brothers and Kroc feuded over control of the business, as documented in both Kroc's autobiography and in the McDonald brothers' autobiography. The site of the McDonald brothers' original restaurant is now a monument.

With the expansion of McDonald's into many international markets, the company has become a symbol of globalization and the spread of the American way of life. Its prominence has also made it a frequent topic of public debates about obesity, corporate ethics and consumer responsibility.”

Yes, McDonald’s does accurately depict the “American way of life” or at least the path it is now traversing, for like Frosts “two roads diverging”, the United States decided to embark on a future removed from a universal “Whitopia” and opted for geographically scattered “Whitopia's” amidst a rising tide of color.

Now, McDonald’s marketing strategy is officially targeted at those who notoriously don’t pass on seconds - Black people - for Sprite and McDonald’s are a staple in Black peoples diet and the corporate giants behind these products believe that a mere 13 percent of population is enough of the market share to warrant 365Black:

“At McDonald's^®, we believe that African-American culture and achievement should be celebrated 365 days a year — not just during Black History Month. That's the idea behind 365Black.com. It's a place where you can learn more about education, employment, career advancement and entrepreneurship opportunities, and meet real people whose lives have been touched by McDonald's."

With McDonald unveiling its 365Black campaign, it is clear that this corporate heavyweight no longer finds the contributions of those who inhabit Whitopia’s important, save for the occasional purchase of a value meal. Interestingly, this campaign might be paying off, for the same people who hate losing in the lottery our finding the calorie jackpot in the form of the $1 menu at McDonald’s:

“McDonald's Corp. on Thursday reported a 6% rise in third-quarter profit as new products and promotions helped fuel growth across all of its global markets.

Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's /quotes/comstock/13*!mcd/quotes/nls/mcd (MCD 59.24, -0.19, -0.32%) earned $1.26 billion, or $1.15 a share, on the period up from $1.19 billion, or $1.05 a share, in the same quarter a year ago.”

The decision to market McDonald’s to Black people only in the United States has had one tremendously negative effect on a certain holiday: Halloween.

Once, McDonald’s marketing campaigns worked overtime to reflect the majority of the nation it wished to see frequent the many franchises that dotted the landscape, but that was in a time when the Whitopia’s of today was America of yesterday.

Most incredibly, McDonald’s had a long history of dedicating the month of October to Halloween, and catering it’s Happy Meal product to children through the innovative strategy of offering its kids meal in a candy-collecting, Halloween theme pail:

“In October 1986, America was introduced to three Halloween pails: McGoblin, McBoo, and McPunk'n. The buckets were presumably intended to be taken trick-or-treating and used to collect candy, but they are far too small for that. The buckets say they are safe for children ages 1 and over, but they're hardly useful to children over the age of 4. In my experience, the pumpkin pails hold roughly one street's worth of candy, assuming the street has at least 40 houses and none of them belong to dickheads with no Halloween spirit.

"But once you start kindergarten, a bucket's worth of candy just isn't enough. You realize that there's a whole town's worth of free candy out there for the taking and you make your mother take you all over the neighborhood until you have enough chocolate to last you until Easter. Or maybe you don't... but I did."

Not only did McDonald’s offer Halloween pails for young people, it offered a candy-collecting device for parents to use so that they didn’t have to purchase another said device, thanks to the fine folks at McDonald’s who were interested in community-building for other people, instead of the 365Black demographic, which oddly denies even the existence of 64 percent of United States citizens. (Once, McDonald's placated the majority as this website shows, prior to McDonald’s abandoning marketing to the Whitopia)

Interestingly, the Halloween pails that McDonald’s once issued haven’t been offered under the Golden Arches since 2001, and are nowhere to be found in the new marketing strategy that is 365Black, for Halloween can only work in neighborhoods where trust exists, community reigns and kids can have the freedom to roam without fear.

SBPDL is unsure why, given the criteria listed above, that McDonald's ditched the Halloween effort in the age of 365Black...

McDonald’s strategy to go 365Black has once again proven the adage, “Once you go Black, you never go Back,” for Halloween firmly rests in children's minds all year around. The marketing decision to position McDonald’s as an urban eatery, replete with the canonization of Black people year-round, has had the adverse effect of destroying the Halloween-centric Happy Meal.

Though McDonald’s profits might up in the short term, tailoring its marketing campaign to 13 percent of the United States truly has a short-sighted value proposition for potential investors.

Once, McDonald’s marketing gurus found Halloween an important enough Holiday to invest heavily into, but going 365Black has been a business decision that is strangely at odds with this holiday…

Stuff Black People Don’t Like includes McDonald’s celebrating Halloween, for if in the age of 365Black – well, to put it blunt, if Halloween were worth commending, it would be doing so. It is not, and for good reason. McDonald’s past Halloween marketing plans and product roll out (Happy Meal merchandise) were tied directly to an outdated line of thinking: placating Whitopia’s.

All that matters now is celebrating 365Black, and McDonald's is doing just that. Halloween, oddly, doesn’t fit the bill, for that is a Pre-Obama America celebration of a time that no longer exists, and a holiday that has nothing to do with 365Black.