What is the thinking behind McDonalds interior decor?

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I was in there yesterday and it struck me that despite their faltering sales, they have still stuck firm to the bizarre 1980s playroom design principles that have served them for so many years. I'd be hard pushed to think of an interior that less effectively spells 'mmm.. food!'. Maybe it's meant to get people out of there fast.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Same designer as Michael Jacksons apparently.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe it's meant to get people out of there fast.

yes.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't it all about the kids?

colorful, lots of toys and made of molded plastic so that you can hose down the vomit from kids playing in the ball room.

and what doesn't say 'mmmm...food' like hosing down vomit?

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:03 (twenty-two years ago)

michael jackson has a "ball room" too. Thats where he does performances with "baldy the clown".

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

But it puts me off even going in there. Peach + primary colours = sudden loss of appetite.

Surely they can't make all their money from kids? Well, not really young kids that might possibly like it. Mostly it's full of teenagers.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:04 (twenty-two years ago)

the ones around here are all filled with grumpy old people looking for cheap coffee. maybe they like it too.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:08 (twenty-two years ago)

They've moved away from ours quite a lot since they got rid of the smoking section.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Surely they can't make all their money from kids? Well, not really young kids that might possibly like it. Mostly it's full of teenagers

and teenagers have no taste (much like the food), so it's fine.

xpost

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:11 (twenty-two years ago)

(that's no taste in anything, and in interior design in particular for the purpose of this discussion.)

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Teenagers wouldn't be seen dead in peach and primary colours!

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Teenagers will go anywhere there are other teenagers, surely.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

not if they're goths.

― MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:17 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm sorry, but the phrase "ball room" is making me chortle entirely too much this morning.

― Kingfishee (Kingfish), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:18 (twenty-two years ago)

that's why goths don't wear peach or primary colours.

― ken c (ken c), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Ball Room

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe it's different in michigan. the teenagers (anyone over 16, actually) go through the drive thru and then hang out in the parking lot, thus avoiding all the bad colors.

the only people that actually eat in are kids and the people that are watching them. and sometimes there is a wonderful mcdonalds birthday party. what kind of parent gives their kid a mcdonalds birthday party?

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

my best friend's parents, when we were 6, in 1982.

― Kingfishee (Kingfish), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I went to one once! We met Ronald McDonald! But Grimace was nowhere to be seen, alas.

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

You should've written to Mayor McCheese to complain.

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:25 (twenty-two years ago)

but the Good Mayor was too busy giving the business to Birdie in the backroom of city hall of McDonaldLand.

― Kingfishee (Kingfish), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:29 (twenty-two years ago)

I too had a birthday at a McDonald's when I was 6 or so. It was in the lower level of the restaurant, and the wallpaper was tic-tac-toe patterns. Sounds hideous I know, but it really was a good time!

― B61 (calstars), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Ally to thread!!!

http://bitchcakes.topcities.com/images/allyronald.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

What is that and why aren't more than 88 people allowed in it?

― N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

http://members.cox.net/goofygrape3/collection/supermarket/snacks/mcdonaldland.jpg

wait! there was a PIRATE!?

― Kingfishee (Kingfish), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah his name was Captain Nuggets.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

i only went to one mcd's birthday party. they weren't prepared to deal with a 9 year old vegetarian. i wasn't happy because they wouldn't even give me extra fries.

i didn't ever have to go to another one. (and i think they were all the rage in paw paw for a while...)

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

i think i saw a porno with that title. (cpt nuggets

― anthony easton (anthony), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:40 (twenty-two years ago)

haha.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:43 (twenty-two years ago)

In Cambridge the McDonalds has a kind of Classical Greek Ruin decor.

it has a circle of pillars in the middle and fake ruined walls around the place.

The rest of it is the same as all the others though.

― Davel (Davel), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

now, some of you could say, "Surely, there's isn't a webpage devoted to the McDonald's toys released in New Zealand?"

And I would reply, with most certainty, "Sir, you there IS."

― Kingfishee (Kingfish), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)

McDonalds sub-branch McCafé in Stockholm:

[picture converted to link #1]
[picture converted to link #2]

― Hanna (Hanna), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Jesus I'm sorry, didn't expect them to be MONSTER SIZED MCCAFE PICS!

― Hanna (Hanna), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

(Moderators feel free to delete MONSTER SIZED MCCAFE PICS at your convenience.)

― Hanna (Hanna), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:04 (twenty-two years ago)

the one by my house has a 50's decoration theme going on. along w. the peach/primary color madness.

― kephm, Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:12 (twenty-two years ago)

cause nothing says cheesburger better than elvis?

― kephm, Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:17 (twenty-two years ago)

That picture was obviously supersized. I'd like one of those chairs with the built in lamp.

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

This reminds me of the real best thread ever.

Link posted purely to horrify Colette.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

That cafe looks bad-the-fuck-ASS.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah his name was Captain Nuggets.

No it wasn't. The Pirate pre-dates the arrival of McNuggets. He was Captain Something-else.

Anyone rememer Sir Shake-a-lot?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh wait....he was for Burger King...

http://www.amiannoyingornot.com/(ipdn4355bc0cvlmaywcun345)/Resources/Images/photo.aspx?image=2602.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

According to this site...

http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?mcdonaldindex

...the pirate was "Captain Crook".

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I know Alex, I was messing.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:46 (twenty-two years ago)

The legend of Captain Crook is that he steals your colon after you eat MCDonalds.

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:47 (twenty-two years ago)

oh god, i'd forgotten about the mcdonalds wedding.

although i'm probably more horrified by all your puns on that link, matt (i'll admit a couple did make me laugh, but i'm dumb)

― colette (a2lette), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:53 (twenty-two years ago)

To address the original question it is for the exact same reason that each McDonald's restaurant hires out its very own McFamily to dine at the table directly in front of you.

A McFamily includes:

1 x chain-smoking mum w/kiddy-punching fixation
1 x skinhead dad w/optional union flag tatoos
2 x fussy, screaming little brats who have collected every happy-meal toy ever released since the day they were born.
1 x bib-wearing monosyllabic nonagenarian w/mashed-up Big Mac dribbling from his lips.

The family are paid to eat at the restaurant six or seven times a day to maintain fluid customer rotation.

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:54 (twenty-two years ago)

mcrageous!

― Chris V (Chris V), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I remember going to McDonalds in the downtown near where I grew up, and it was mostly gold and brown, with fake plants in wood boxes and one wall made of brick. It looked like a typical 70s design, and wasn't particularly off-putting. I remember maybe around 1984 or or thereabouts they totally changed it, taking out the plants and doing the whole thing in bright colors and neon (neon!). By that point I really didn't eat at McDonalds but really shivered whenever I went by; I mean it seemed designed completely to make people feel ill at ease and want to get out quickly. I'm sure a company of that size has a whole department devoted to how the restaurants are designed and the psychology behind it, but making the space one that you actually don't want to eat in is really something. I know ease of clean-up is a big factor, but you should at least make your customers somewhat comfortable.

― Sean (Sean), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I It looked like a typical 70s design, and wasn't particularly off-putting. I remember maybe around 1984 or or thereabouts they totally changed it, taking out the plants and doing the whole thing in bright colors and neon (neon!).

I remember when they used to have that gold and brown design, it was nowhere near as objectionable as the colors they favor now. Or maybe I'm just too besotted with all things 70s. I don't know.

― El Diablo Robotico (Nicole), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

what's with the soccer player kicking cookie puss in the nads?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Who designed those CHAIRS! I'm in love.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Why should I care so much about chairs?!

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:48 (twenty-two years ago)

and why am I having a conversation with myself about it on a thread?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know you chair-loving freak, why are you?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I changed those huge pics to links, upthread.
Also, this thread makes me want to go get McDonald's now. (But then again so does reading Jughead comics.)

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 18:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I went to a McDonalds on the outskirts of Paris where everything was BLACK and modern looking. They also had plasma screens for the menus which I thought was a good way of going about it. I figure someone could probably make some good coin coming up with a plasma screen menu system for any fast food joint in North America.

S'true.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 19:08 (twenty-two years ago)

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