MarketWatch has an interesting article about a new series of commericials from McDonalds using celebrities like Macy Gray and Carl Lewis to show how some famous people began their careers at McDonalds. MarketWatch says the ads also star people who began with regular McJobs and then worked their way up to franchise owner.
Celebrities such as Olympic track star Carl Lewis and singer Macy Gray are featured in ads dubbed "My First" that talk about their short-lived careers at McDonald's. Others include franchisees, who liked their jobs so much they bought a store.
"It's a very strong message about how when you start at McDonald's, the opportunities are limitless," said Richard Floersch, executive vice president of human resources. "You can stay within the organization and work your way up or go through the franchisee route."
Jim Skinner, chief executive of the hamburger giant, for example, began as a crew person in high school. Of the 50 top managers, 20 list McDonald's crew jobs as one of their first places of employment.
Carl Lewis says that teamwork learned from his McJob helped boost his track career.
"It's the teamwork and the timing that you learn," he said. "I joke about this all the time, but my world is about split seconds. Working back there with people cooking, cleaning and doing whatever had to be done, the timing was so important.
"If something was out of line, the hamburger's soggy and the fries are too old and people didn't like that," he added. "It's something that has always stayed with me."
McDonald's employs over 1.6 million people worldwide according to the MarketWatch article and they have 438,000 full-time people according to a Yahoo profile. The company's job website can be found here.
