The McDonalds corporation doesn't sell pre-prepared Big Mac's in the chest freezers of Walmart, Tesco and other big superstores. A home prepared, microwaved Big Mac just wouldn't be a Big Mac, they'd argue. And if they could capture the true Big Mac experience at home, then people would stop going to the restaurants. Or so they fear.
But why don't they sell the raw materials and ingredients of their fast food products in superstores, together with preparation instructions? Probably for the same reason, but in the same vein as my earlier post about faking markets, the notion of a karaoke brand and economy seems to work pretty well when it comes to music.
And just because poor old Frank Sinatra gets murdered a thousand times a night in pubs and clubs all over the world, doesn't seem to do his brand or his music sales any harm. The same could be said for baaad performances of Romeo & Juliet in some backwater theatre in Townsville, population 415. Or book club readings.
So, why does this apply to music, stage plays and other performing arts, but not to traditional commodity items like food. Or clothing?
If someone released a supermarket frozen fast food line as a homage to (OK, blatant rip-off) McDonalds, perhaps called McRonalds and complete with the Mini-Mac (as an aside, I guess that's why Apple went for Mac Mini?), Chicken McNuglets and other too close for comfort tweaks of McD's trademarks, they'd get a home visit from a large curly, red haired lawyer in the early hours of the morning, with a painted on scowl instead of a smile.
Perhaps one day we will see McDonalds, Coke and other big brands reluctantly issuing home consumer licenses which carry heavy FBI warnings about NOT FOR RESALE and for personal consumption only.
Maybe it's only a matter of time before the 'secret recipie' for Coke is leaked into the public domain, cracked like DVD copy protection for all to emulate in the comfort of their own kitchens, with home-made Coke results indistinguishable from the Real Thing.
But why don't they sell the raw materials and ingredients of their fast food products in superstores, together with preparation instructions? Probably for the same reason, but in the same vein as my earlier post about faking markets, the notion of a karaoke brand and economy seems to work pretty well when it comes to music.
And just because poor old Frank Sinatra gets murdered a thousand times a night in pubs and clubs all over the world, doesn't seem to do his brand or his music sales any harm. The same could be said for baaad performances of Romeo & Juliet in some backwater theatre in Townsville, population 415. Or book club readings.
So, why does this apply to music, stage plays and other performing arts, but not to traditional commodity items like food. Or clothing?
If someone released a supermarket frozen fast food line as a homage to (OK, blatant rip-off) McDonalds, perhaps called McRonalds and complete with the Mini-Mac (as an aside, I guess that's why Apple went for Mac Mini?), Chicken McNuglets and other too close for comfort tweaks of McD's trademarks, they'd get a home visit from a large curly, red haired lawyer in the early hours of the morning, with a painted on scowl instead of a smile.
Perhaps one day we will see McDonalds, Coke and other big brands reluctantly issuing home consumer licenses which carry heavy FBI warnings about NOT FOR RESALE and for personal consumption only.
Maybe it's only a matter of time before the 'secret recipie' for Coke is leaked into the public domain, cracked like DVD copy protection for all to emulate in the comfort of their own kitchens, with home-made Coke results indistinguishable from the Real Thing.