FeaturesMarch 3, 1998
CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: INTERNET SERVES UP FAST FOOD FUN AND GAMES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE (COLUMN 78)
Hungry? The Internet serves up fast food on the Internet. Of course it comes up even faster with a speedy connection. Virtually every major franchise has its own home on the Internet telling about its products and offering entertainment. You can't buy food, but you can buy merchandise...
JONI ADAMS AND PEGGY SCOTT
Hungry? The Internet serves up fast food on the Internet. Of course it comes up even faster with a speedy connection.
Virtually every major franchise has its own home on the Internet telling about its products and offering entertainment. You can't buy food, but you can buy merchandise.
We'll start at one of the most well-known names, McDonald's.
Joni: Most of these sites are pretty flashy and splashy. You will need at least the 3.0 version of Netscape or Explorer. McDonald's also recommends two plug-ins, Adobe Acrobat and Shockwave/Flash. You may want to download these first.
Peggy: Apparently, McDonald's recently remodeled its website and has included a whole page of instructions. It encourages parents to enjoy the page with their children. It also suggests parents take a look ahead in time so they can learn how to play the games. I would need plenty of help to get ahead of my kids.
Joni: The site answers that burning question: What toy comes in this week's Happy Meal? At least give McDonald's credit. At the top of the page it says, "Hey Kids, this is advertisement." Peter Pan is the toy theme for the next few weeks.
Peggy: It has a kid's area with a coloring book, a time machine with the history of McDonald's restaurants and old versions of the McDonald's jingle. You can download them in contemporary, rock 'n' roll and salsa.
Joni: On the world tour, you can see a day in the life of a McDonald's restaurant and visit restaurants around the world. There is also an area for older kids called McWorld. You can put your name in headlines here.
Peggy: Yes, after filling in the blanks, everyone could read Mel Gibson say he couldn't have made his blockbuster movie without Peggy Scott. Sounds good to me. Let's take a look at Burger King's site.
Joni: There is a flaming whopper on the opening page. You can take a look at Burger King's current commercial. Beware. It will take a while to download.
Peggy: Burger King offers you nutritional information about its foods. And yes indeed, a Whopper has 640 calories and 39 grams of fat. A double whopper with cheese has 960 calories and 63 grams of fat. Wow! But its chicken salad only has 10 grams of fat.
Joni: You can join the Burger King Kids Club online and read more about the characters you see on all the Kids Club stuff. Looking for something a little different? Check out Pizza Hut online at
Peggy: As you enter the site, Pizza Hut asks, "How hungry is your browser?" You need the Flash plug-in to enjoy the best of this site. You can leaf through the Pizza Hut History book, which makes good use of the Flash technology.
Joni: You can also download Pizza Hut's first commercial, "Putt, putt to Pizza Hut." It's a hoot. This is really a neat site.
Peggy: The Flash technology is also in use for Pizza Hut's fun facts. You can also link to some other slices, including Taco Bell. Or you can go there directly at
Joni: You can chat with your buds, "monge," a cybermeal or find the closest Taco Bell. This site is best used with Flash technology.
Peggy: You can send a cybermeal via e-mail including your favorite Taco Meal treat.
Joni: Under Extreme Zone, you can find out the latest lingo. Language changes. Cool is hot, and hot is passe. You can add your own hip lingo to the database.
Peggy: You can join in some Taco Bell rap chat or read T-Files, stories from people about Taco Bell. We read about one man who went to Taco Bell every day for years. Let's visit Wendy's.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
Joni: Hey, it's Dave on the front porch. You get to explore Wendy's house, including photos of founder Dave Thomas. I was glad to know that Dave is the real guy.
Peggy: You can see everything from Dave's funny photos to the corporation's annual report and SEC filings.
Joni: I didn't know Dave had an adoption foundation. He was adopted and knows his life would have been much different if he hadn't had adoptive parents. He offers a beginner's guide to adoption. More than 500,000 copies have been distributed.
Peggy: This restaurant dates back to 1969. Until 1977, commercials only aired on local Columbus, Ohio, television. In 20 years it grew from a modest one-restaurant operation to a multimillion-dollar operation. It's named after his daughter Melinda Lou, who is nicknamed Wendy.
Joni: You may remember the "Where's the Beef" promotion from 1984, which stole the show at the Clio Awards. In the same year, Wendy's also had the "Parts is Parts" commercials.
Peggy: Yahoo lists web addresses for almost every franchise. Here's just a few:
(Chick-Fil-A)
Joni: I'm sure there are many more sites. What's your favorite food site on the Internet? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com
See you in Cyberspace.
Joni Adams and Peggy Scott are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Related
FeaturesOct. 24
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
