You head into your local McTISATAAFL's and order a soyburger, a side of bacon 'n' onion flavarings and a Coke (tm). While you wait on line for your food you are treated to: Five minutes of movie trailers, two shampoo commercials, and, since you ordered Coke (tm), a further lengthy commercial for a cola tie-in. You fill out a quick holographic consumer survey (which includes your standing customer number) for the counter guy, and exchange it for your food. You don't pay a cent for it, and step into the cafeteria area, where the tables, walls, ceiling and floor are all papered up with cheapo monitors made from that new smart videopaper. Needless to say, every one of them is running the same advertisement as you munch. When you finish eating, you stroll past another attendant who's there to prevent take-out, and back onto the street you go, into, say, Times Square, or the Vegas strip, where the level of artificial visual stimuli is appreciably lower...McThere is such a thing as a free lunch? Maybe call this place Big Brother's, from all the demographic info they'll gather from hungry volunteers. (A large fast-food corp could actually get away with doing this today--at least in a very high-traffic tourist locale as a publicity venture.)
-- cloudface, Aug 29 2003

Fat Kids Sue McDonalds http://news.bbc.co....2688000/2688065.stm
Fat, lazy, and greedy is no way to go through life. [DeathNinja, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

/// since you ordered Coke (tm), a further lengthy commercial for a cola tie-in. ///

not much point in advertising Coke to someone who has just bought one?
-- jonthegeologist, Aug 29 2003


Don't you think that Mc There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch would be competing mostly with soup kitchens? Few advertisers are looking to reach people who can't afford a happy meal. Currently, fast food already barrages you with ads for other stuff, and makes you pay for the privilege. If you wanted to trade ads for food, you would be much better off setting up a booth in the mall, and giving away gift certificates...
-- dbsousa, Aug 29 2003


Even if it's for free, fast food is over-priced.
-- DrBob, Aug 29 2003


probably find loose advertising flyers inside your bun.
-- po, Aug 29 2003


This sounds like a product convention.

I don't care for your idea, but I like your username.
-- k_sra, Aug 29 2003


They'd probably use Laserfurterator technology to put corporate logos on your food.
-- jivetalkinrobot, Aug 29 2003


Yeah! And then you get even more money when you sue them for making you fat. Muahauahua...
-- DeathNinja, Aug 29 2003


oh what a brilliant idea. make fast food free by watching ads - hell, make everything free if you watch enough ads, then no-one would have to pay for anything-

oh that's right, if no-one's ever buying anything, kinda defeats the purpose of advertising anything at all then doesn't it?
-- seedy em, Oct 08 2003


Give away product to advertise product? It seems to me that the two cancel each other out. What's the point, for example, of advertising Coke to someone who is being given Coke for watching advertising about Coke?
-- painperdu, Oct 26 2009



random, halfbakery