Does the World Hate Your Favorite Brands Now?
Companies like McDonald’s and Levi Strauss have long tapped into America’s soft power to drive international sales. But what was once a blessing is fast becoming a curse.
America's politics are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of global consumers.
Photographer: Pedri Pardo/AFP via Getty Images
For 66 years, Lenin’s tomb ranked as the most visited spot in Moscow. Then in 1990, McDonald’s Corp. opened.
That year, some 10 million people stood in line for hours to get their first taste of a “Big Mak” and American culture, dwarfing the 3.2 million who waited to see the embalmed remains of the founder of the Soviet Union. “At least you can get something to eat here,” one Muscovite queued up outside the Golden Arches told Fortune Magazine at the time. “Who wants to stand in line to see some dead guy?”