“McDonald’s beer is luxurious. Beef is healthy. And, yes, beef is sexy.” - The startling new messages McDonald’s Corporation is using to promote their products in the Chinese market.

Seducing seems to be the new trend for McDonald’s in China. Sex sells and I suppose no one wants to do this better than McDonald’s with their low grade beef hamburgers. With Angelia Jolie-like lips, one raunchy billboard seduces customers with a close up of a puckered mouth almost salivating over a McDonald’s hamburger (Note: Those burgers look much bigger than the ones we have here in America). Another ad (not shown), features a woman stroking a man’s flexed bicep with the tag line “Flirt with your senses” in Chinese.

The campaign to support the release of the Quarter Pounder (which actually looks like the 1/4lb of beef is should there) demonstrates a marketing shift for McDonald’s Corp. in the Chinese market. It is also a shift to push the American-Style fashion of “big eats” to the Chinese consumers. As China’s market, economy, and culture begin to change McDonald’s is hoping to have a leg up on the competition. In addition to looking different (scale), the Chinese Quarter Pounder had cucumbers (not pickles) and tomatoes and spicy sauce as well. Because domestically grown beef costs more in China, the large mark up makes beef a luxury rather than a day to day commodity we see it as Americans. Therefore, the heightened sex appeal the ads depict might not be that bad afterall. Also, because “beef” means manliness and strength in Chinese the sex appeal billboards add to the meaning behind the word.

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