Procedural-1 McDonald´s
Intervention. McDonald´s, Gijón, Asturias. 2010. Video-projection
Joint works: Yeny Casanueva and Alejandro González.
The project attempted to point out the marketing structures that large companies such as McDonald's organize and the way in which they manipulate their clients by proposing their participation in supposed projects with local economic and cultural benefits, building commercial strategies to use heritage traditions and turn them into tools that propose other consumption devices, also eliminating the survival of endogenous cultural elements that guaranteed these traditions.
In this sense, the work tries to rethink the benefits and losses that could be generated by the global practice sponsored by mechanisms of material and symbolic appropriation. Following this direction, it would also be worth asking: What conditions heritage assignments, beyond their cultural value, and to what extent does the economic use of these heritages redefine the way in which we interact with them? The video installation shows us how transnational economies study local cultural elements to develop interdependent flows that guarantee new consumer models.
The work consisted of the placement of a rear projection screen on which video art referring to fast food culture was projected for 15 days, with the aim of conditioning consumption time. Showing the use of regional traditions, with which the company tries to build relationship models promoting the consumption of its products. On the other hand, at the entrance of the establishment a card was given with a QR code that at that time referred to a Web page with the following text:
Are you a McDonalds customer?
Discover our range of products designed for family enjoyment. Our company strives to maintain the family and cultural traditions of each region, regardless of its geographical location, race and lifestyle. By purchasing one of our Menus, you are guaranteeing the opening of our establishments, the creation of jobs, the enjoyment of our products and the maintenance of family relationships as the principle of our activity. In addition, you will be contributing to the construction of new cultural spaces with the aim of promoting and fostering local cultures based on respect and mutual exchange.
Below were three sample forms for each customer to choose one of the proposed menus and decide in which geographic area they preferred the budget for their menu to be used, thus supposedly guaranteeing the construction of new McDonald's establishments that would generate contributions to subsidize regional cultural projects.
In this sense, the work tries to rethink the benefits and losses that could be generated by the global practice sponsored by mechanisms of material and symbolic appropriation. Following this direction, it would also be worth asking: What conditions heritage assignments, beyond their cultural value, and to what extent does the economic use of these heritages redefine the way in which we interact with them? The video installation shows us how transnational economies study local cultural elements to develop interdependent flows that guarantee new consumer models.
The work consisted of the placement of a rear projection screen on which video art referring to fast food culture was projected for 15 days, with the aim of conditioning consumption time. Showing the use of regional traditions, with which the company tries to build relationship models promoting the consumption of its products. On the other hand, at the entrance of the establishment a card was given with a QR code that at that time referred to a Web page with the following text:
Are you a McDonalds customer?
Discover our range of products designed for family enjoyment. Our company strives to maintain the family and cultural traditions of each region, regardless of its geographical location, race and lifestyle. By purchasing one of our Menus, you are guaranteeing the opening of our establishments, the creation of jobs, the enjoyment of our products and the maintenance of family relationships as the principle of our activity. In addition, you will be contributing to the construction of new cultural spaces with the aim of promoting and fostering local cultures based on respect and mutual exchange.
Below were three sample forms for each customer to choose one of the proposed menus and decide in which geographic area they preferred the budget for their menu to be used, thus supposedly guaranteeing the construction of new McDonald's establishments that would generate contributions to subsidize regional cultural projects.