Wendy’s Doesn’t Know What I Deserve
I was eating a burger I had purchased from a fast-food restaurant, Wendy’s, last week. As I was eating it, I was reading the cup my soda came in. On the side it said, “Your deserve a download with your burger.” which was encouraging me to download a free music file from Rhapsody.
At first, that struck me as an odd statement because of all the burgers I’ve eaten, it never occurred to me that to make my burger more satisfying I needed a music download. At times I’ve reconsidered my choice in sodas, perhaps I should have gotten a shake instead. But I don’t recall ever saying to myself, “You know what this burger needs? A music download!”
Stay with me. I’m leading up to something. 
Then I pondered the use of the term, “deserve”. Really? I deserve a download? Who is Wendy’s to tell me what I, a perfect stranger, deserves?
As I scarfed down the rest of my meal so that I could get back to work, this whole idea of being told I deserved something stuck with me the rest of the day.
Of course, it wasn’t really about me deserving something. It was more about one company, Wendy’s, trying to influence my behavior by making me think I was entitled to something. This behavior would eventually (hopefully) lead to a sale.
I haven’t downloaded the music, but I’ll make an educated guess that it will involve me giving my personal information to Rhapsod and face some junk mail in my future. Or maybe it would ask me to enter my credit card information for a free trial of which I might forget to cancel and be charged for something. It doesn’t matter; these are just guesses anyway. But I’ve seen enough free things in my life to get an idea.
This whole idea of being told we deserve something for nothing, this feeling of entitlement is what I think plagues our society today. In fact, I think it’s the reason we see many people act so selfishly these days. I’m not saying that Wendy’s is at the root of all evil, but it’s the message they and others are delivering that are causing our wounds to fester.
Someone sues someone else because they feel offended. “Well, by golly, I deserve to be treated better, so I’ll show you!” A candidate running for office feels they deserve to be the winner, so they’re going to make sure everyone else running against him looks bad whether they have to lie or not.
No matter if what we hear or see is true or not, we’ll eventually believe it to some degree or at least that’s what advertisers are betting on. We’d like to think that whatever makes it between our ears is true, and indeed I’m optimistic enough to think that it is. But, I for one, will stop to examine what information I’m being fed to keep from becoming an automaton acting on someone else’s will. I encourage others to do the same.
What do you think? Is advertising going too far?
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About the Author: Mark Sierra is an online entrepreneur and web publisher. As the owner of StarFrost Media, he continues to add blogs and products to his online portfolio designed to help inform readers on software and blogging, teach them to be more productive, and even learn how to make money online.
Eric Odom | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
“This whole idea of being told we deserve something for nothing, this feeling of entitlement is what I think plagues our society today.”
You hit the nail on the head there. And this message is being shoved down our throats at every turn. “You deserve a break”, “you deserve a better price”, etc.
And do we even need to bring up politics? Politicians would like us to think we deserve anything we want!
Great post!
Eric Odom’s last blog post..Firefox goes viral on Microsoft IE
Mark | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
@Eric
Oh boy, don’t get me started on politics.
This whole “deserve” thing really hit me many years ago when I was buying a car. The salesman was eager to make the sale. And what did he pull out of his back pocket but a “Come on, you deserve it.” I ended up buying the car, but get this — I had to TAKE IT BACK shortly after because the guy shouldn’t have sold me the car at the price he did. That always stuck with me, but those words now, as can be seen in my post, hold another meaning for me all together.
Thanks for commenting!
David Cooley | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
“This whole idea of being told we deserve something for nothing, this feeling of entitlement is what I think plagues our society today. ”
Eric was right, that is the Nail on the Head.
Try hiring someone these days. You would not believe how much you owe someone just to hire them ! They are entitled.
If we all got what we truly deserved, we would be in real trouble.
I wish we could get back to the days of “you get what you earn”
Excellent post Mark
David Cooley’s last blog post..Entrecard Review
Jill Allie | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
I whole heartedly agree with this. I find it very frustrating whenever I recognize when someone or some company is trying to manipulate me to do something by using psychology.
It is this type of behavior that can often turn us into such skeptics, which in the end hurts then next guy trying to advertise their product to us.
Kyle Eslick | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
I’m not sure what else to say that hasn’t already been said, other than sadly this stuff works.
I see the people sitting around me at work that just follow like sheep. Sometimes I think it is just being a member of a large corporation, but it really seems to be the case everywhere.
People wouldn’t advertise if it didn’t work!
Kyle Eslick’s last blog post..What is Keyword Sniping?
Mark | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
@David
Yes, what a better place it would be if earning something was the way people behaved. And I mean that for both good and bad behavior. You do something good? You get rewarded. You do something bad? You pay the price. Not that I think the world should be without compassion, but surely there’s too much leniency going on.
@Jill
I know it’s the name of the game, but to blatantly say something that isn’t true really bugs me. You’re a first-time commenter. Thanks!
@Kyle
Oh absolutely. Advertising is a very powerful thing, indeed. I just wish that some companies had soul when they used it.
GeekMom | Jan 14, 2008 | Reply
Excellent point, well-written. The sense of entitlement among people these days — especially the younger ones — is amazing.
GeekMom’s last blog post..Five tips to make your blog load faster (and keep more visitors)
Mark | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
@GeekMom
Thank you! Indeed, young people are just following what the grownups are doing, which sadly means we’ll have another generation to continue to cycle.
Brown Baron | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Since everyone has pretty much summed up what I planned on saying I’ll just go with “I love it!”
Fantastic post buddy
Tay - Super Blogging | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
I’m with Brown Baron - everyone has already said everything, but I have to comment anyway. I love this post. If I read that on my cup, I never would have thought twice. But you prove an excellent point. Thanks.
Tay - Super Blogging’s last blog post..Group Writing Project: Articles About Blogging
Ben | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
I think if more people truly got what they “deserved” there would be a lot less people out there wanting what they “deserve”. If that made any sense.
Ben’s last blog post..EntreCard a Week Later
Michelle | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
Wow…that certainly made me stop and think for a moment. I grew up with the “You deserve a break today” slogan from McDonalds and I recall singing that stupid jingle to annoy my parents into buying me a milkshake. I hope I don’t use that word in any of my advertising campaigns…better go check now
Michelle’s last blog post..Let’s Give Away Stuff…Week 2
Christy | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
What a great post, I believe that we deserve what we work hard for. It should be “what you can afford.” That’s the reason why so many people are deeply in debt. We are a society that screws itself over in the quest to have (own) everything.
Can I still say I deserve a vacation? Come on..I have four kids…lol.
Christy’s last blog post..Oprah’s Latest Venture - The Oprah Winfrey Network
Bush Mackel | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
All I’m gonna say is : “I love the Wendy’s Kid’s Meal”.
That is all.
Bush Mackel’s last blog post..Pepperjam Network Review
Mark | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
@Baron
Thanks buddy!
@Tay
And thank you too. Just goes to show how my mind wanders when I eat. LOL
@Ben
That is SO true.
@Michelle
That’s so funny because I grew up with that too, “You deserve a break today, at McDonald’s, we do it all for you.” LOL That used that jingle for the longest time.
@Christy
Thank you! Yes, I hereby grant you your vacation and make that one for each kid.
@Bush
I do enjoy their burgers. And Frosty’s? Ooooooo, that’s some good stuff right there.
Garry Conn | Jan 15, 2008 | Reply
You know what… I read this post yesterday and later that day and honestly NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT THIS POST I pulled into Wendy’s and got self conscious about trying to eat healthy and quickly left and went to SubWay.
This post is subliminal isn’t it? You are brainwashing your readers and telling them to go to SubWay!!! How dare you…
Garry Conn’s last blog post..Not Another Theme Change!!!
Mark | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
@Garry
My evil plan is coming together. Muahahaha!
Grace | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
I think Wendy’s means that you deserve a song for buying their burger, which means, that if you didn’t buy their burger, then you don’t deserve the song. Sounds funny, now that I think about it.
Grace’s last blog post..Monday Linking- January 15 2008
Mark | Jan 16, 2008 | Reply
@Grace
Hmm, still smells fishy to me.
Garry Conn | Jan 17, 2008 | Reply
I think Wendys should offer a life insurance policy with their burgers…
Hopefully this links, take a look at their Nutrition Facts Sheet. This will make you think twice about scoring their Triple W/Everything and Cheese.
* Note: They list their burgers at the BOTTOM of the fact sheet. LOL!!!!
Garry Conn’s last blog post..Blogosphere Donates Over $3000 To A Blogger In Need
Mark | Jan 17, 2008 | Reply
@Garry
We’re doomed!
Steve | Jan 18, 2008 | Reply
I think it’s a simple gesture to give you something free and win you over. Big deal. Certainly not worth a huge blog post.
Mark | Jan 18, 2008 | Reply
@Steve
You’re a first-time commenter. Thanks for doing so!
I think you may be missing my point. I was proposing that this is part of a much larger effort we see today in advertising. Indeed, it’s something we’ve seen since advertising began. It’s just that I believe it has gotten to the point where it has caused some people to think in a way they shouldn’t, something that has done more good than harm.
Bobby Revell | Jan 20, 2008 | Reply
People often don’t realize how smart advertisers are. Advertising for big corporations is a science…a science with more development money than cancer research. The same is true of advertisers in the blog world. How about this for a blog:
Revellian Riches Dot Com | Because You Deserve Extra Cheese © …hahahahaha.
Bobby Revell’s last blog post..Bobby’s Batch #3 - Bright As The Sun
Mark | Jan 20, 2008 | Reply
@Bobby
LOL
Aaron Cook | Jan 24, 2008 | Reply
“It was more about one company, Wendy’s, trying to influence my behavior by making me think I was entitled to something. This behavior would eventually (hopefully) lead to a sale.”
Precisely, Mark. Corporate advertising just continues to get sneakier and sneakier. And sadly, the “sheep” of our society eat it up like ice cream on a hot day.
Personally, advertising techniques like this really tick me off - probably more than they should. And when a company ticks me off, I stop buying from them completely. For example, McDonald’s got on my bad side over 2 1/2 years ago. -I haven’t bought any of their food (if you can call it that) since.
What consumers TRULY deserve is a buying environment free of trickery and deceit.
Shine on,
Aaron
Mark | Jan 25, 2008 | Reply
@Aaron
Hey buddy! I’m the same way even if their advertising gets on my nerves. Not in this particular instance, but if an advertiser is being obnoxious or tries to saturate the market with a commercial, I’m done.