Douglas Coupland Burns McDonald's Buns!
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
FRIES WITH THAT SHAKEDOWN? McJobbers, Coupland (inset)
Douglas Coupland's calling from 1991, and he wants his word back.
McDonald's has been on a PR offensive overseas this week with a campaign to persuade publications including the Oxford English Dictionary to change their definition of the pesky term "McJob." The word first popped up in the late '80s and was popularized by Generation X author Coupland. The dictionaries caught on in 2001.
But McDonald's insists that a job with the company is, Kevin Federline ad spots aside, a good opportunity. In London, they've countered the negative McSlang with their own newspeak that touts the perks of working for the greasy burger chain: "McValued," "McBenefit," "McRespected," boast a recent series of posters.
A bemused Coupland, reached by RadarOnline.com, noted the time lag of McDonald's charm offensive and penned for us this inscrutable open letter (after the jump) ...