"The Founder" explores McDonald's history

I watched a fascinating piece of Americana recently – “The Founder” starring Michael Keaton and directed by John Lee Hancock. The movie is a biographical drama that tells the story of Ray Kroc (Keaton) and the creation of McDonald’s fast food chain.
 
Kroc build McDonald’s into one of the most successful franchises in the world, and he was listed in the “Time 100: The Most Important People of the (20th) Century.” The current numbers are staggering: as one of the world's largest restaurant chains, McDonald’s serves 68 million customers daily in 119 countries across more than 36,600 outlets.

What is also astounding is the company started with a single hamburger stand owned and operated by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. The brothers opened their establishment in 1940, and it was “revolutionary” (Kroc’s words) in its time as the food was prepared in an efficient assembly line manner. In addition, there wasn‘t an interior dining area or wait staff – orders were taken and customers received their food at the front counter. "Orders ready in thirty seconds, not thirty minutes," Dick says proudly in the movie. 
 
When the film begins in 1954, Kroc is a traveling milkshake blender salesman who happens across the restaurant. He immediately sees the franchise potential, and he persuades Dick and Mac to enter into an business agreement to franchise McDonald's restaurants. The brothers sold the McDonald’s Company to Kroc in 1961, and there were already 500 locations in the U.S. by 1963. 
 
From a marketing standpoint, I was struck by a few items in the film that have played a pivotal role in the chain’s success: ​

1. The name “McDonald’s”: Kroc was taken with the McDonald family name and connected to it emotionally. After Kroc ends his arrangement with the brothers, Dick asks him why he didn’t steal their concept as it was clear from the beginning Kroc had a larger vision and the brothers might 

The first McDonald's in the 1940s.

impede his progress. “That glorious name,  McDonald’s – I had to have it,” Kroc confesses. Kroc said the name had a very American sound to it and people could pour their aspirations into it. In comparison, he said “Kroc” wouldn’t have worked nearly as well. It was, by his own admission, too harsh and blunt. ​

2. The “Golden Arches” logo: Kroc incorporated the “Golden Arches” into the McDonald’s brand. Dick came up with the concept, but it had only been implemented in a limited way when Kroc and the brothers met. "It’s a way to make the place standout," Mac notes. Kroc was enamored when he first saw an image of the arches in the brothers' office, and he decided all McDonald's franchises should incorporate it in their branding as the company grew. 

McDonald's “Golden Arches”

3. The “family friendly” theme: Kroc was delighted by the family-centric atmosphere the brothers had created, and he decided McDonald's should continue this as it would give the brand a more wholesome image and help it attract a wide customer base. Earlier iterations of Dick and Mac’s establishment offered cigarette machines, 

McDonald's has a "family friendly" tone. 

jukeboxes, and  drive-in service, and this drew teens prone to loitering and littering. By removing these elements, as well as focusing their menu on simple "all-American" food like burgers, fries and milkshakes, they were able to attract parents and their children. One of the most memorable scenes has Kroc laying out his vision. “McDonald’s can be the new American church!” he declares. “There should be (one) everywhere - coast to coast, sea to shining sea.”

In closing, "The Founder" is an intriguing slice of American history and culture. I was enthralled to watch someone build on the concepts of others and, in doing so, fundamentally change the dining experience both in the U.S. and abroad. There was a McDonald's near my childhood home in suburban Detroit, and I went there fairly often when I was young. So, while I already had a certain attachment to the restaurant chain, the company's legacy truly resonates now that I know the larger story. ​