Dallas Cowboys – McDonald’s
McDonald’s is America’s fast food restaurant.
No matter how you feel about McDonald’s, you can’t deny the popularity and the brand of the chain. For every five miles you drive, you will pass at least one McDonald’s. That number is not factually correct, but you get my point. McDonald’s are everywhere. Look into the sky at night. You see three things. Stars, the moon, and the golden arches.
Maybe McDonald’s doesn’t have the best fast food, but they have the most talked about fast food. Everyone has heard of McDonald’s and the Big Mac.
The Dallas Cowboys don’t have the best team, but everyone has heard of them. They are America’s Team. Your third cousin twice removed, who thinks a football is just the shape of Arnold’s head and not an actual sport, knows who the Dallas Cowboys are.
You don’t have to like the Dallas Cowboys. You can be sick of the coverage they get. You can be outraged that they are constantly feature in primetime games. But you can’t deny their history and appeal.
Much like McDonald’s, the Cowboys were the first team who really “got it.” They realized that they could be bigger than football. Just like McDonald’s realized that they could be bigger than fast food. The on field product for the Cowboys and the food for McDonald’s, don’t really matter at this point. Both franchises are so much more than “football” and “fast food.” It’s really a testament to their marketing and forward thinking.
It also goes to show just how much you can accomplish when a clown is your mascot.