This was a shock to me. During college back in India I had a friend who used to live in Canada. When I suggested going to McD for food, he was like no it's too trashy and the food is bad. I couldn't believe that cause the lines at McD were long.
After coming to the US I understood what he meant. Burger king in India is almost gourmet compared to what you get in USA
And Burger King in Italy IS gourmet. You have to compete with your competitors, in North America it’s a corporate franchise fast food wasteland and the bar is set exceptionally low.
In this context, the "medium" is the country where KFC/McD is situated, and the "message" is the set of food standards or "the bar" as we're calling it in this discussion.
America truly has bad food standards in general, so the KFC/McD in America reflects that reality. In contrast, Italy has a much higher bar for what is considered food, and KFC/McD reflects that as well.
After coming to the US I understood what he meant. Burger king in India is almost gourmet compared to what you get in USA