I actually like this sandwich.
It’s time for McDonald’s to retire its slogan “i’m lovin’ it.”
I’m not sure what I thought of the slogan back in 2003, when it was first unveiled. I’m sure I ignored it at the time; it seems innocuous enough, if a little too hip. But as the years go by—and it has been over 9 years now, mind you—the slogan grates on my nerves more and more. Maybe it’s the uncapitalized “i’m”, which is so reminiscent these days of lazy Facebook posts and lazy text messages (we can’t be bothered to capitalize!) Maybe it’s the apostrophe after the “n”, as if McDonald’s customers are too busy eating McBeef sandwiches to pronounce a velar nasal. Maybe it’s the totally slangy, scornful-of-correct grammar attitude that the slogan implies. Maybe it’s all of the above. I’m sick of it.
It’s not hard to deconstruct the slogan, to get to the intentions of the Mad Men at Heye & Partner, the agency who came up with the slogan. In fact, through the magic of “fiction”, I recreate their brainstorming session for you here:
BEAN COUNTER #1: We need a new slogan for McDonald’s.
BEAN COUNTER #2: Any ideas?
BEAN COUNTER #1: How about “You will love our food”?
BEAN COUNTER #2: Too formal. Use a contraction. They are hipper.
BEAN COUNTER #1: OK, “You’ll love our food”?
BEAN COUNTER #2: No, it sounds like someone is trying to convince you. Someone is telling you that you’ll like it. But as they always tell aspiring authors, show, don’t tell.
BEAN COUNTER #1: Meaning?
BEAN COUNTER #2: Meaning that it’s more convincing to see someone enjoy something, rather than have them tell you that you’ll enjoy it.
BEAN COUNTER #1: Well, we could say “I love our food,” something like that.
BEAN COUNTER #2: Too stiff.
BEAN COUNTER #1: “I love it.”
BEAN COUNTER #2: Better. Still not hip enough.
BEAN COUNTER #1: “I’m loving it.”
BEAN COUNTER #2: Good, good.
BEAN COUNTER #1: You know, of course, that “I’m loving it” is really poor grammar. It’s only used in the most informal English contexts.
BEAN COUNTER #2: All for the better. It says McDonald’s is cool, iconoclastic. It will hook the young people. It says, “We’re not your parents’ McDonald’s. We can’t be bothered with rules, with good English. Yo, have a cheeseburger.”
BEAN COUNTER #1: Genius.
BEAN COUNTER #2: But we can go further. Make “loving” a contraction.
BEAN COUNTER #1: “Lovin’”?
BEAN COUNTER #2: Yes!
BEAN COUNTER #1: “I’m lovin’ it.”
BEAN COUNTER #2: Perfect.
BEAN COUNTER #1: And you know, we can “dumb it down” further by not even capitalizing the “I”.
BEAN COUNTER #2: Oh, nice. “i’m lovin it.” Great.
BEAN COUNTER #1: I’ll write up a prospectus. How much should we charge McDonald’s?
BEAN COUNTER #2: I’m thinking, $20,000,000?
BEAN COUNTER #1: i’m lovin’ it.
Photo credit: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.sandwiches.292.mcrib-.html
Many Worlds Theory 