McDonald's
Inducted in 1994

The M of the golden arches could just as well stand for Modern Marketing Miracle. As impressive as the fact that McDonald's invented the fast food category is that it is continually reinventing itself. Few if any brands have such cross-cultural, cross-generational appeal. "Everyone" is its consumer. Considering that each day 28 million customers visit McDonald's restaurants in 71 countries around the world, it's hard to imagine anyone in this universe who is unfamiliar with the brand. While McDonald's revolutionized the restaurant industry by creating the fast-food genre, it also became the paradigm for establishing a franchising empire. More than 80 percent of its 9,220 restaurants in the US are owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs.

While the "You Deserve a Break Today" jingle was retired years ago, it remains the anthem of generations. Moreover, it is representative of McDonald's consistent style of breakthrough advertising. Many of its ads are, quite simply, historic. Among the most memorable are those that featured the physically challenged - "Silent Persuasion," which first aired in 1986 and starred two hearing impaired students, and "Mike," circa 1990, about an employee with Down's Syndrome. The brand's success is attributable, as well, to carefully targeted advertising. For years, it has been leading the way in creating commercials aimed at key consumer audiences, including African-Americans, Hispanics, and "Tweens"- those too old for Ronald McDonald but too young for car keys.

And, speaking of Ronald McDonald ... There's no clowning around when it comes to the brand's persona. Uniquely, it has made the company a role model - and conscience- for corporate America, with advocacy of community minded, cause-related marketing. Ronald McDonald Houses, created in 1974, now number more than 157 in 10 countries and more than 1-1/2 million individuals have found the comforts of the program. Additionally, Ronald McDonald's Children Charities, which was established in 1984 in memory of founder Ray A. Kroc, has awarded nearly $74 million to a variety of youth causes.

Keeping count of the number of burgers served is, as we all know, a McDonald's signature. But, tonight, what matters more than those unfathomable, exponential figures is the brand's countless marketing coups and their impact-earning the prestigious honor of being inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame.