McDonald's Wants China to Know Who They're Rooting for in the Olympics

Anyone with lingering doubts that the Olympics are about more than the pristine beauty of sports and competition will probably be surprised by this story. Everyone else who knows that making money and marketing products are just as, if not more, important will just see it as business as usual.

McDonald's has unveiled a slogan designed to pray on Chinese nationalism in the service of selling a few more hamburgers. The company is telling their customers "Wo jiu xihuan Zhongguo ying," which translates to something close to "I love it when China wins." Brian Sullivan of the Fox Business Channel, via SportsbyBrooks, had some harsh words for the company.

"Supporting the host nation is one thing ... and you're spending a lot of money on the Games and it's appreciated. But show your appreciation to the American athletes and don't openly pander to China's Olympic fervor. Remember: you are an American company. You were built here"

I think they are remembering that they are an American company, actually. Like most American companies, including the myriad corporations that have shipped large portions of their operations overseas, they are concerned with the bottom line above all else. If they think using this slogan is going to sell a few more McNuggets then, by gum, they'll use the slogan. It's worth noting the last time they tried this, it backfired.

In 1984, McDonald's held the "When America Wins, You Win" giveaway. Diners would get free food if the United States won a medal in a certain event and, when the Warsaw Pact countries boycotted, it cost the company quite a bit of dough. The same thing befell Krusty Burger when they tried the promotion in a fictional universe. Even before calls for Olympic boycott this year died down they probably weren't planning a repeat.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. I don't understand why it would help sell the food, which given it's nutritional value ain't going to help China win much except for a lot of added pounds. All of this is pretty standard operating procedure for the Olympics, though.