A viral video has sparked a fresh wave of scrutiny over the way fast food giants like McDonald’s market their menu items, with one advertising expert revealing a subtle yet powerful tactic that could change the way you look at nuggets forever.
In the TikTok, viewed nearly half a million times, marketing professional, Luke, lifts the lid on some of the language used in McDonald’s advertising.
“A long time ago I was working on a project with McDonald’s and I learned something that now I can never unsee,” he says.
“It says right there made with 100 percent beef,” he continues, pointing to the packet of jerky he’s eating, “which is such a funny twist of words because it’s made with 100 percent beef, not made of 100 percent beef.”
“With the McDonald’s thing, it was that their chicken nuggets are made with 100 percent chicken. You know there’s a lot of other stuff in there, and some of it might not be 100 percent chicken, but it’s made with 100 percent chicken.”
“You’ll see it everywhere now. Subtle marketing trick,” he adds.
“Still tastes good.”
The video quickly amassed hundreds of comments, with many expressing their shock over the revelation.
“Thank you for your public service,” one person wrote.
“I’m so tired of sleazy food company marketing,” someone else admitted.
“Once you work in marketing, your eyes are opened too much,” another replied.
While Luke is American, the marketing approach isn’t unique to the US, and a check of the Australian McDonald’s website reveals a similar story.
Here, Chicken McNuggets are advertised as “made with tender juicy 100 percent Aussie chicken breast.”
But a look at the ingredient list shows it’s not that simple.
Chicken is indeed the first ingredient, but it’s followed by water, flour (wheat, corn), canola oil, thickeners, starches, salt, mineral salts, spices, sunflower oil, and dextrose, among others.
In other words, while the nuggets are made with 100 percent chicken breast, they are not made of only chicken breast.
In response to this, McDonald’s Australia shared a statement to news.com.au saying that they’re “not in the business of misleading our customers.”
“When we say our famous Chicken McNuggets are made with 100 percent Aussie RSPCA-Approved breast chicken, we mean it,” the statement read.
“The additional ingredients listed in our nutrition and allergen fact sheet go into the delicious marinade and coating.”
“Being transparent about this is important, so that our customers can make informed decisions about their menu choices.”
Under Australian law, businesses may be breaking the law if they engage in misleading or deceptive conduct, according to the ACCC and the AANA Food and Beverages Advertising Code.
It makes no difference whether a business intends to mislead or not, but rather how the average consumer perceives the claim.
News.com.au is not suggesting McDonald’s is misleading customers, but the video definitely highlights how carefully crafted language can be used in advertising to shape our understanding of what’s really in our food.
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