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by portmanteur 1064 days ago
Who chooses to stop at McDonald's instead of a fancy restaurant, just to save $5?
6 comments

I assume that contrast is to point out how completely off the mark ads often are.
Sometimes you just want nuggets
Doesn't matter, we're all talking about McDonalds now.
It’s a segmentation issue. The ad buy was for “people going to restaurants” but it might have been “people going to {type} restaurants.”

Thought it’s probably not that simple. A naive ad buy might not care to target, or targeting is too expensive and you’re ok wasting some impressions because it might be all-in cheaper, or {brand} has the media budget to pay to be in front of your eyeballs all the time.

I suspect a more sophisticated chatbot will upsell the restaurant's offerings. "Would you like a bottle of champagne chilled and waiting for you? The Mushroom Bruschetta with Brie, Sage and Truffle Oil appetizer is the special of the day" that sort of thing.
Then you get there and find out it hallucinated and ordered you the cheesesteak eggrolls. But this is okay because you love cheesesteak eggrolls and come on... truffle oil? Really?
Hardly anyone. The same few who also click on web ads. If the ad is cheap to place, and if you don't pay for annoying people...
Yes it is a bit backwards. The McDonalds stop afterwards makes more sense.
That’s the rub right?

If they are taking an Uber to of the fancy restaurant and passing a McDonald’s chances are highly likely they will take a very similar route on the way home. They will still want to stop at McDonald’s for a $4 Large fry or an ice cream cone but no coupon this time. The line is now longer which increases the ride time and the drivers perceived profit.