OK, let’s get this out in the open. I like McDonald’s “McCafe” specialty coffees. Since my affinity for McCafes has become known, staff here at Hile have responded in a variety of ways, most of them uncharitable, including accusing me of being unsophisticated in my coffee tastes, or conversely, accusing me of thinking I’m “too good” for the regular brew most everyone else imbibes a couple of times a day. One staffer thinks it’s amusing to add the prefix “Mc” in front of regular words when talking to me, for example, “Monica, are you doing anything “McFun” this weekend? Very McFunny.

McDonald’s is trying to combat consumers’ preconceived ideas about their coffee by running television ads urging consumers to avoid “snobby” coffee shops and take advantage of McDonald’s. One such ad shows two guys sitting in a stereotypical coffee shop, classical music playing in the background. “We don’t have to call movies ‘films’ anymore,” says one guy when his friend tells him that McDonald’s has cappuccinos. “And we can talk about football.” “I like football,” says his friend, while peeling off his black “artsy” turtleneck. “I like sitting and watching football.” Read the rest of this entry »