Icon Analysis

The popular culture of America is densely saturated with icons. Celebrities, cartoon characters, baseball, apple pie, and numerous other things can all be considered cultural icons. However, three contemporary examples in the business world include McDonald’s, Grey Goose, and the iPod. While all three may seemingly be unrelated, each has managed to carve its own marketing niche in today’s mainstream that is immediately recognizable,

McDonald’s is by far the most successful fast-food chain in the world. With its golden arches and bright red and yellow décor, it is hard to mistake a McDonald’s restaurant for anything else. They have executed many marketing techniques and strategies to form such a strong brand identity over the years. One such marketing tactic that has proved most successful for the corporation is specifically targeting children. In addition to the Happy Meal, McDonald’s has created an entire mythology with Ronald McDonald, Hamburgler, Grimace and the rest of the McDonaldland crew that captivates the minds of children. It is through this widespread success and memorable marketing that the corporation has been able to reach iconic status. Even I fondly think back on memories of going to McDonald’s as a child despite my strong distaste for the corporation now. Back then it represented a fun place to eat in my mind.

Grey Goose is a widely recognizable brand of vodka. It is often name dropped on hip-hop tracks because it is viewed as a symbol of prestige. Much of its success and iconic status is owed to marketing, its high price, and perceived high quality by its loyal imbibers. For many it may represent prestige but for me it is not much more than a marketing gimmick. Similarly priced but much less well known, Pravda is a true enthusiast’s vodka of choice.

As with McDonald’s and Grey Goose, another product that has achieved iconic status through clever marketing is the iPod. It was first marketed toward younger consumers with its silhouetted and youthful advertisements that were and still remain nearly inescapable. As a result of successful marketing, the iPod phenomenon has gone well beyond just the youth demographic and now resonates throughout all markets. It is sleek, innovative, and represents not only to me but numerous other consumers a quintessential a device to own in our technologically advanced world. This is why I feel the iPod has vastly become the portable media player of choice in our society.