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1. •  
     CommentAuthorDanieru
   • CommentTimeOct 17th 2006

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   Creamaid.com are currently running a promotion where bloggers, having written about their 'experiences' at McDonalds are rewarded with cash.
   
   I thought it might be funny to submit a post to their campaign and, having recently written a McDonalds related piece (McNeutralisation and the Origins of Global Culture), I did just that.
   
   Sadly, although predicatably, my article was not accepted into the campaign, but I can still "earn $2 referral fee each time a visitor of [my] site participates through [my] post's widget and gets selected."
   
   And I did get a rather bizarre, personal response, which made me smile and went like this:

   Dear Daniel,
   
   Hi, my name is Trent Kang. I'm the CEO of CREAMaid.
   
   We've visited your post today, and we found out that we could not select your post although your post itself stands out.
   
   We are currently trying to gather people's "pure experiences" about McDonald's, unlike what most people think. People think we will control the voice of public because they think we are targeted at reviews or opinions.
   
   However, we are not targeted at those. We just want people to take some snapshots at McDonald's and share with others what they did there. I hope you also understand what we are trying to do and do not feel offended by our decision. I feel bad for notifying you this because actually I enjoyed your post.
   
   Now, I understand that it would be difficult to convince many bloggers to accept our concept from the beginning, but I believe that a day will come when even the people who write professional posts take some time off from writing their usual "serious" posts and share their everyday life with their readers.
   
   For example, if you like Heineken, you could make room for a post that deals with what you did last night having a Heineken. No reviews. No opinions. Just yourself enjoying your life. And we hope to let people get rewarded just by doing that. In fact we are running the Heineken campaign right now. We will run more of those in the future, just to show people what we are aimed at.
   
   Of course we know it would be difficult to convince people about this. In fact, I'm not even sure if I have convinced you. However, I just want you to know that we are just trying hard to make this work without becoming evil.
   
   Anyway, we apologize for not being able to select your post. Thank you for your participation. Please feel free to provide us with any feedback or advice. Thank you.
   
   sincerely,
   
   Trent Kang
   founder/CEO
   CREAMaid.com

   I too am thoroughly glad that 'evil' has not won out, yet.
2. •  
     CommentAuthoridoru345
   • CommentTimeOct 17th 2006 edited

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   As you say, their (soft) rejection of your entry is not a shocker.

   
   

   Still, I can't help but think that in years to come, corporate entities will be more comfortable with some, maybe all, of the ideas you transmitted via your post.

   
   

   Not, mind you, because they've become "cool" or more "humane" or any of the other fantasies of CEO enlightenment filling up books in the business section of American book stores.

   
   

   Rather, I suspect the modern condition - which Bruce Sterling once described as a "iceberg, moving with sinister majesty..." - will prompt corporations to see the marketing possibilities in presenting themselves as neutral spaces, free of (obvious) ideology or contentious cultural material.

   
   

   

   
   

   McDonald's 2020 will say to its customers: "it's existentially cold outside..come in to warm yourself by the comfortingly nondescript fire."

3. •  
     CommentAuthorMole of Production
   • CommentTimeOct 17th 2006

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   I'm picturing a brainstorming session in some smoke filled, windowless room at some generic advertising agency. There's a white board and two strips of bare, oppressive florescent lights. McDonald's threw some money at them, but they can't think of anything: all their ideas are too original, to rare, and they're starting to scare the execs. They need something that drones. Something only an idiot would think is clever. But what combination of buzz words will do it?
   
   A lone voice breaks the silence. "I've got it! Dear God, it's beautiful:
   
   A User-generated, Web 2.0, Reality Product Placement with a Wiki flare! In the Blogosphere!!!"
   
   Somewhere, a creative writing teacher cries himself to sleep.
4. • CommentAuthorwhat?
   • CommentTimeOct 18th 2006 edited

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   'Checkov convusles, the paracite penetrates the tympanic membrane...all your knowlege is mine!
   KHAN
5. • CommentAuthorwhat?
   • CommentTimeOct 18th 2006 edited

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   Nothingness with sprinkles, but, oh, what sprinkles!
6. • CommentAuthorkayman
   • CommentTimeOct 18th 2006

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   Eerily eminds me of high school religion teachers.
   
   
   Here's my pure McDonalds experience. The last time I had McDonalds the fries were cold, they forgot to give me ketchup, and I felt sick after the big mac. Send it in dan, get yourself 8 nice shiny quarters. That's enough to buy an egg mcmuffin--woohoo!--thatll get you another pure story, right from the heart!