Rhetoric Not Included in the Happy Meal

After viewing the McDonald's Site, I was surprised at many different things. Mostly, the ease and clutter-free that was on each webpage, and how easy it was to navigate.

The Kairos of McDonalds is very broad and indefinite. You can find support for the Winter Olympics... you can find a corner for kids, such as activities and games, a place for adults, such as health-related information, and careers, a shop (which actually is surprising, considering all of the items), and a lot of "time-wasting" material that relates to promotions, advertisements, and updates on McDonald's activities.

On the Logos level, the rationality of the website seems very practical. There is no clutter. Hardly do you have to scroll up and down to take in the information, or read articles and paragraphs. Likewise, there are usually more pictures and videos than there are anything else. Thankfully, there are no major "third-party" advertisements, although it appeals to the typical American by offering to join through FaceBook and Twitter.

The Pathos level seems to exhibit constant happiness. Simple colors, organization, each section appeals to the point of that area. If you're looking for a job, it names opportunities, locations, information, and positions. If you click on Food, Nutrition, & Fitness, you have complete access to every bit of food that McDonalds produces instantly, without having to search or type in anything. The emotional aspect of this eliminates any frustration or confusion, and the entire site radiates comfort and ease.

The Ethos appeal seems to try and include a little bit of everything, as is American custom. Even when watching the commercials for McDonald's over the last eighty years, you can see movement from the typical family outing to "a little bit of everything", from the atypical music to targeting kids specifically with Ronald playing with children, to the repetitive repeat of a guy going to different businesses asking what he can purchase with a single American dollar.

The topic of the website seems upfront and forward. If you want McDonald's information, visit our site. Look on the specific link, and then look through the webpage for the specific bit of data. As far as I can tell, a "third-party" built the McDonald's USA website, but certain links warn that you are navigating away while other links seem already there. Again, the purpose of the site seems to be for American customers of all ages and ethnicity. It appears online of course, and based on a hunch, I assume it is the site that is linked through all McDonald's advertisements. The site seems to have been made between 2005 and 2010, probably being updated with new recipes, ingredients, and food items. I assume that the site will not be revamped or altered majorly until after this year, and may not look the same in 2011. As for how and why, the website is probably framed through extensive feedback and user's opinions, and it was written for anyone wanting to get online and inquisitively search online.

Although I am not out of the country at the moment, I will be asking friends to send my pictures of various McDonalds from around the U.S. I hope this makes up for not being able to contrast a "host" site with the United States site.

I'll keep you all posted...