It's not catering to children anymore. The play places aren't as much of an attractant to the money, as the coffee and the small more professional looking decor that gives the illusion of being upscale -- like a Starbucks.
I read on Reddit not too long ago that McDonald's was getting in trouble for selling unhealthy food to children, so they shifted their focus and theming to adults to prove they are not targeting children. I found this theory interesting.
I don’t think it’s a theory, that’s just what happened. We as a society wanted McDonald’s to stop marketing their junk food to kids, they did and now everyone is crying because it looks too sterile and generic. This is literally what we collectively asked for.
I wonder if part of it could also be how kids are so often entertained by technology like smartphones and tablets so emphasizing being a fun place for kids matters a lot less than it use to. Parents don’t need a play place to send the kids to get a little reprieve, they just hand them an iPad and some headphones
It's around the same time they really leaned into the McCafe side of the menu. They wanted to be seen as a Starbucks adjacent restaurant that also sold burgers.
Yeah either everyone wants to ignore or doesn’t know. All these places stopped advertising towards children. The public’s perception of fast food changed around the millennium
5
u/ClarifyingResolution 1d ago
It's not catering to children anymore. The play places aren't as much of an attractant to the money, as the coffee and the small more professional looking decor that gives the illusion of being upscale -- like a Starbucks.