Week 4 EOC: McDonald's Response to Super Size Me

How did McDonald’s react to Super- Size Me?

Well, many of us have seen the documentary “Super Size Me” were a man does an experiment of his own based on the unhealthy McDonald’s menu. He wanted to prove how unhealthy and harmful the food is that McDonalds is advertising and producing. After this documentary aired McDonald’s started to get many complaints, so they eventually got rid of size “Super-Size.” McDonald’s stated “The reason for reducing the number of fry sizes is to simplify operations and enhance our ability to deliver better service to our guests,” the memo said, adding that the 7-ounce carton “will be eliminated as part of our healthy lifestyle initiative.” So now instead of a 7-ounce of fries you will only get a 6-ounce of fries. They started selling salads, fruit, vegetables, and yogurt. They have also make the portion of the fries in the Happy Meals a lot smaller and added a pack of sliced apples for a healthier choice, you could even opt for milk instead of soda. Another way that McDonald’s protected its brand was by filming their own documentary called “Salad Without Dressing Me,” which “presents the corporate giant as a business that offers a healthy yet delicious menu to its customers, treats patrons with respect, and is ahead of the time.” McDonald’s has said that this document has nothing to do with them trying to protect themselves from all of the criticism that has recently been said about them. Although they say that this documentary isn’t a response, it sure seems that way. Instead of eating Big Macs and fries for a whole month it shows a person eating McDonalds salads for a month and losing weight. "This just goes to show," said new CEO Charlie Bell, "that a person can eat at McDonald's for as long as they want and, as long as they live an otherwise healthy lifestyle, can lose weight in the process."

What do you think about it?

“When filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heard about a lawsuit that two overweight New York teenagers had brought against McDonald's, blaming the restaurant for their condition, he decided to conduct an experiment.” When I watched the movie “Super-Size Me” and heard about the two lawsuits against McDonald’s I had mixed feelings. McDonald’s is unhealthy and it’s pretty obvious. Although McDonald’s is promoting unhealthy food it is ultimately your choice to eat it. So I don’t think that they should have gotten as much criticism as they did.

Citations:

McDonalds’ phasing out Supersize fries, drinks. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4433307/ns/business-us_business/t/mcdonalds-phasing-out-supersize-fries-drinks/#.UfmY-b_y-zY

McDonald’s Counters Controversial ‘Super Size Me’ Documentary with In-House ‘Salad Without Dressing Me.’ Retrieved from http://www.enduringvision.com/news/business_010404.php

From 2004: ‘Super Size Me.’ Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-615975.html

Week 3 EOC: Rolling Stone Magazine

Rolling Stones magazine was founded in San Francisco during the year 1967. The founder, Jann Wenner wanted this magazine to be all about music, liberal politics, and pop-culture. Jann launched his magazine with money that he borrowed from his family and from his soon to be wife’s family. At first Rolling Stones magazine was known for their political coverage, but then in the 1990s they changed their format to appeal to the younger population of America. In his very first magazine published, “Wenner wrote that Rolling Stone ‘is not just about the music, but about the things and attitudes that music embraces.’ This has become the de facto motto of the magazine.” In the 1980s Wenner saw that his readers were becoming more interested in the celebrities in television and movies, also the influencers of the day so he shifted his magazine to be more of an “entertainment magazine.”

In the book “Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History” Robert Draper states, “What was going on inside the Rolling Stone offices was just as wild and unpredictable. This was not the usual collection of professionals battling deadlines to lay out fashion spreads or recipe collections. This was a motley band of rebels, outcasts, and loners, fiercely independent scribes with nothing in common save a belief in the power of music and the ideals it represented.” The Rolling Stone men were not afraid to take risks, they wanted to stand out and show the world how they felt about music and also how our everyday lives has a huge effect on how music is perceived. This is why I think that they choose to put controversial things on the cover of their magazines. It may come to a shock for some people, because they may be unaware that Rolling Stones is also a news magazine. But since many just think that this magazine is only all about music, I feel that their covers can also tie into the music world. There have been many songs that address their feelings about politics and the issues that are going on in the world. Rolling Stones can certainly show people that political issues do have an effect on our music. “Today, Rolling Stone continues to reign at the forefront of American journalism, and with 12 million readers it serves as the ultimate source for music information and popular-culture trends.” Although they are still known from being a music based magazine, the risk they took to show people that they are a source for the news, will definitely not be forgotten again. 

The History of Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved from http://cecilbuffington.com/photo3_40.html

Rolling Stone Magazine: The Uncensored History. Retrieved from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236615.Rolling_Stone_Magazine

Jann S. Wenner Biography. Retrieved from http://www.jannswenner.com/Biography/

Week 2 EOC: John Varvatos

Who is he?

John Varvatos is a Greek American who grew up in Detroit. In 1983 he joined Polo Ralph Lauren, but in 1990 he moved to Calvin Klein as head of menswear. Then in 1995 John rejoined Ralph Lauren and become head of menswear design for all Polo Ralph Lauren brands. John created his own company in 1999, with his first clothing line launching in 2000.

Strengths:

A strength that John Varvatos has is that he tries to relate to many of todays people. He has lines for men and has also done advertisements with a family aspect. He also is inspired by music and incorporates it into his designs, and many people are able to easily relate themselves to his clothing.

Weaknesses:

A weakness that John Varvatos had was that he was having a hard time running his business. This could eventually hurt your company as you grow and gain more popularity. V.F’s CEO said, “John Varvatos Enterprises is better served under different ownership.” V.F wanted to sell his business to someone else but ended up with a joint venture giving John Varvatos 20% interest and V.F. 80%.

Opportunities:

An opportunity that I think John has would be to not only be inspired by rock n’ roll bands and only go for that demographic but try to venture off into the other music genres and try to gain attention from the demographics that follow them.

Threats:

A threat that his company may have would be all of the more established brands that are already out there. He makes clothing that is more on the basic side with a neutral color palette but its nothing special. His prices may not be as high as other brands but that means that he isn’t attracting those markets. This means that since his clothing is more for the everyday man that he needs to do more work to make sure that men know that his clothing are special, comfortable, and for any wardrobe.

Pictures:

Citations:

John Varvatos Biography. www.informat.com Retrieved from http://www.infomat.com/whoswho/johnvarvatos.html

Willie Nelson and Sons Star in John Varvatos Fashion Ads. www.nydailynews.com Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/willie-nelson-sons-john-varvatos-article-1.1395953

Menswear Label John Varvatos Changes Owners, Changes Course. www.bizmology.hoovers.com Retrieved from http://bizmology.hoovers.com/2012/03/12/menswear-label-john-varvatos-changes-owner-changes-course/

Week 1 EOC: My Voice

What is fashion? Well many people may just say clothing, shoes, or accessories, but fashion is more than that. As a creator within this field I have interpret my own meaning of fashion. Fashion is the power to say or feel without words. It’s the first impressions when you are seen across the room or through a window of a restaurant. It’s how you are able to portray your feelings or mood. It’s confidence, personality, creativity, and it’s your voice without the motion of your mouth, eyes, or hands. It should be considered a form of body language since, just by looking, you are able to see how a person is feeling today: timid, shy, confident, excited, serious, depressed, sexy, or daring. As a shy person I have always used fashion as a way to show my personality and to stand out. It helps me speak without the use of words. Fashion…although it does deals with clothing, shoes, and accessories it has a much deeper meaning, that only a few can see. I am proud that I get to be a part of that few. But most of all I am proud to be able to inspire and help contribute to this powerful form of voice.

Ever since I was a little girl I have always known that I wanted to be a part of the crazy creative world of fashion. I guess it may just be in my blood because my mom was really into designing when she was younger. I would always dress up in my mom’s clothes and put on my own runway shows. As I got older I found beauty in the clothes that nobody wanted anymore.

As I gain more experience and grow within this field I hope to create my own clothing line and also a handbag and accessories line. Wherever life takes me I know for sure that I will definitely create my own handbag and accessories line. I have always been drawn to these products and have begun to create some of my own. I have super basic sewing skills but I am really excited to learn more and hopefully learn how to create clothing. Being a contributor to fashion is what I will become.