Stefan's weekly rant

I bet you're wondering where in the heck I'm gonna go with this one, huh?! No, I'm not gonna rant about how Chun Li eats too many burgers and has fat thighs. LOL Please bear with me, and it'll all make sense. I was talking with some people about Chun Li, and I think I made a really good point. So I'm gonna pass that on to you. A lot of times people just get stuck on the same old talking points and prejudices, and you have to help them think outside of the box. I like doing that ^_^

McDonalds, just celebrated its 50th anniversary. There are over 30,000 McDonalds all around the world that serve something like 125 million customers every day. It's the 3rd most recognized brand in the world (Coca-Cola is #1, and I forget #2... maybe Nike?).

What is McDonalds? It's a lot of things, but simply put, it's has always been a burger-joint. That's what McDonalds is really all about. Nobody sells as many hamburgers as McDonalds. It's been successful because it serves good food! Of course. Not only that, it serves cheap and consistent food, so if you go to McDonalds in St. Louis or Thailand, it's gonna be the same burger & fries.

OK... now does McDonalds have the best hamburgers? No way! They're good (I've eaten hundreds), but I can name a dozen places in my city that server a better burger. McDonalds is SO popular because it's cheap, consistent, good, and everywhere you go.

That's exactly like Chun Li.

Chun Li is good, but she's basically the same old thing (consistent)... so if you were a fan 10 years ago, and just came back, there's the same Chun Li you knew back then. Easy. If you're into games at all, she's been everywhere you look for a long, long time. She's the fast-food of video games. That means she's for fat, lazy, dumb people. LOL Just kidding! She serves a role as something quick and easy that fans can all know and get into at any time. It doesn't take much effort or knowledge to be a Chun Li fan. You can be a diehard Chun Li fan, but the vast majority just jump on a quick, easy bandwagon because they don't have the time or knowledge to do anything else. It works either way.

Cammy is the Fuddruckers or Hardees Thickburger... not nearly as common, but way better in almost every way. In a taste test, Cammy would win almost every time! And given the choice of places to eat, people would go to Cammy's. But Cammy isn't always around (outta sight, outta mind), and she has a more complicated menu, so people tend to settle for the good old Chun Li because she's always around the corner.

Never underestimate the power of advertising!! Think of how many lame celebs are famous, but you don't know how or why? Ashlee Simpson, for example. Who likes her? Who thinks she's talented? Why the hell do I know anything about her?! I have no idea, but she's all over the media, and that's enough to make 'popular'. A lot of people are sheep. That's not really bad, but you don't necessarily wanna follow their lead.

Why is McDonalds so successful if there are tons of better burger places? It's not that McDonalds is bad in any way, but they got ahead at the right time by being something original and special, they became an icon, and they've run a great business since then.

Again, exactly like Chun Li.

Chun Li and Cammy are different kinds of characters. Maybe it's not fair to compare the two when you ask "Who is better?" It's like corporate giant vs mom & pop store. Their roles are kinda different. I don't know, but when it comes to excellent service and quality, I know where I'm going... to Cammy's! And given the knowledge and choice, I'm sure most fans would go there too ^_^