story time, or narrative theory on the internet

Inspired by today's pencil-and-paper activity, I visited the McDonald's website to see if and how its site uses storytelling devices. Turns out, they do.

The homepage uses single-shot photographs to tell three "stories" of McDonald's customers: all three stories indicate an urban setting and promote cultural diversity, a healthy lifestyle, and an active social life. These "characters" are meant to represent all McDonald's customers, but their unique stories and individuality are also emphasized.

The website also uses characterization, a crucial component to any narrative, by devoting an entire link to Ronald McDonald and his friends. Here, Ronald welcomes users to his "very own webiste" with a personal greeting. Kids can learn, create, play, and participate in the imaginary world of their favourite fast-food hero. They also don't take the intelligence of the little Happy Mealers for granted: the slogan "Hey Kids, This is Advertising!" located in the top left-hand corner of this site explicitly announces the real purpose for this fun interactivity. It might appear to be interested in cultivating the intelligence and creativity of America's youth, but, like most things, money is the bottom line.

They have also used Shrek as a famous character in popular culture to add to their appeal and to contribute to their site's narrative.

Interactivity is another way that this site "reads" like a narrative. Visitors can choose their destination through various links, including "Sports," "In the News," and "Get Shoppin.'" By clicking on certain links without any prescribed order, users can create, or "edit", their own version of the McDonald's story and the values this corporation deem important.

For the second portion of this reflection, I chose to analyze the Urban Outfitters website. To be honest, there isn't much colour on the homepage at all. A tiny splash of blue here and there, meant to look like inked handwriting, doesn't evoke feelings of trust, security, or cleanliness, attributes commonly associated with the colour. The printing is less than impressive and looks like it's meant to be an editor's marks on pictures or a manuscript; that is, scribbly and haphazard.

Today, I learned to see the colour orange with a new set of eyes. I had never before associated this colour with cheapness, but after this association was mentioned in class, I instantly thought of the discount stores SAAM and Giant Tiger, whose logos both use orange as the dominate colour. An orange banner in the top right-hand corner of this site beckons us to "step into summer" but it makes me see the items pictured below like they belong in bargin bins or in the clothing department of the General Store in Lion's Head. Those sandals look cheap now, like the kind that give you blisters.

So, between the scribbled, simulated blue ink and the tacky orange banner, I have to say I'm downright turned off bythis site and any products they might try to convince me are cool. Perhpas a touch more blue would have led me to trust them, and the quality of their products, as well as the artistry of their web designers, a little bit more.