Critics say it's time to hang up the yellow jumper

 

 

 

NEW YORK (AP) - Ronald McDonald is having a midlife crisis.

 

His floppy shoes, painted-on smile and flaming-red hair may be a harder sell to today's kids who are trading in their dolls and trucks for manicures and mobile game apps at ever younger ages. He also seems out of step with McDonald's Corp.'s new efforts to appeal to adults. The 48-year-old spokesclown has fallen flat in new ads this year, according to Ace Metrix, a group that tracks TV advertising.

 

 

And the government is getting strict on marketing unhealthy food to children. That has both marginalized Ronald as more of a mascot than a product pitchman and landed him in the middle of the bigger debate about food makers' responsibilities in stemming the rise in childhood obesity.

 

McDonald's says it is proud of the food it offers and that Ronald teaches children to be active.

 

Critics say it's time to hang up the yellow jumper.

 

A group called Corporate Accountability International plans to ask Ronald to retire at the company's annual meeting on Thursday. They say Ronald encourages kids to eat junk food, contributing to a rise in childhood obesity and related diseases such as diabetes.

 

The group, which campaigned against the Joe Camel cigarette mascot in the '90s and complained about Ronald as a role model at McDonald's annual meeting last year, has stepped up its campaign. The group has taken out full-page ads Wednesday in the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Metro and four other papers to call for his head. The ads, signed by more than 550 health groups and professionals, carry the headline, "Doctors' Orders: Stop Marketing Junk Food To Kids."

 

What follows is an open letter to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, that says in part, "We ask that you heed our concern and retire your marketing promotions for food high in salt, fat, sugar, and calories to children, whatever form they take - from Ronald McDonald to toy giveaways."

 

McDonald's defended Ronald against the group's attack at last year's annual meeting and is adamant that it has never considered retiring or even downplaying their smiling mascot.

 

"It's totally unfounded," said Marlena Peleo-Lazar, the company's chief creative officer, who describes Ronald as "a force for good."

 

Ronald, the world's most famous clown, had humble beginnings with a paper-cup nose and scraggly blonde wig. First played by Willard Scott in 1963, he dispensed burgers and fries to delighted children and flew around on a magic hamburger. "Goofy and clumsy" is the way McDonald's describes the early incarnations.

 

A decade later McDonald's created standards on makeup and mannerisms for Ronald, so the actors who portrayed him could present a united front. Around that time, they also created McDonaldLand, home to Grimace, Mayor McCheese and an array of other characters.

 

(McDonald's, for the record, views Ronald as a real person. "There's only one Ronald," Peleo-Lazar said in response to several questions about how many actors portray the smiling clown.)

 

Around 2004, McDonald's christened Ronald as a "balanced, active lifestyles ambassador," and stuck him in commercials where he trained for the Olympics. He got workout clothes. He got a tuxedo. He moved from McDonaldLand into the real world. New commercials show him as an active, athletic clown who plays soccer, shoots hoops and encourages kids to visit McDonald's Happymeal.com website. There's barely a mention of burgers and fries.

 

While other clowns have faded, Ronald has endured. He's been immortalized as a Beanie Baby, a bobblehead and a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. Even now, Zagat says he's the most popular fast-food mascot, beating out Jared the Subway Guy.

 

"It would be tough to walk away from him," said Nigel Hollis, whose company, Millward Brown Optimor, calculates that McDonald's is the fourth-most valuable brand in the world. "It would be almost as if the Geico gecko disappeared, or the Aflac duck."

 

But Jack McKee, vice president of sales and marketing at Ace Metrix, said new Ronald McDonald commercials have failed to entice test audiences. His company surveyed 500 people about each commercial, he said.

 

"It's really remarkable how often I saw the word 'creepy'" in the survey comments, McKee said.

 

Replies Peleo-Lazar: "For everyone who may feel that way, there are more who feel the opposite."

 

Through the years, Ronald has also been the face of Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides free or inexpensive housing for families who must travel to get medical treatment for a child. He still shows up as often as ever at camps for sick children and charity events.

 

Nick Guroff, a spokesman for Corporate Accountability International, said while that's a worthwhile charity, "to use that as their excuse for marketing junk food to kids is sort of having their burger and eating it too."

 

http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/critics-say-it%27s-time-to-hang-up-the-yellow-jumper

 

 

 

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Man Eats 25,000th Big Mac, 39 Years After His 1st

 

 

A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac on Tuesday, 39 years to the day after eating his first ... nine.

 

Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald's in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald's most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske's feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.

 

"I plan on eating Big Macs until I die," he said. "I have no intentions of changing. It's still my favorite food. Nothing has changed in 39 years. I look forward to it every day."

 

 

The sign beneath the golden arches Tuesday read "Congrats Don Gorske 25000 Big Macs."

 

Before he ate No. 25,000, he showed dozens of onlookers many of the different styles of cartons he has collected over the years and other Big Mac-related stories.

 

Before biting into the sandwich, he said, "It's been seven years since 20,000. Same thing goes this year folks. You can't have the carton and it probably still takes 16 bites for me to finish a Big Mac."

 

The crowd erupted into applause.

 

Gorske, who appeared in the 2004 documentary "Super Size Me," which examined the fast food industry, looks nothing like one might expect of a fast food junkie. He's trim and walks regularly for exercise, and he attributes his build to being "hyperactive." He said he was recently given a clean bill of health and that his cholesterol is low.

 

Gorske's obsession with the burger — two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun, for those not familiar with the once-ubiquitous ads — started May 17, 1972, when he bought three Big Macs to celebrate the purchase of a new car. He was hooked, and went back to McDonald's twice more that day, eating nine before they closed.

 

He's only gone eight days since without a Big Mac, and most days he eats two. Among the reasons he skipped a day was to grant his mother a dying wish. His last Big Mac-less day was Thanksgiving 2000, when he forgot to stock up and the store was closed for the holiday.

 

Gorske said he loves numbers and counting things and was inspired to start counting his burgers because McDonald's noted how many hamburgers were served on their sign.

 

He said he is probably obsessive compulsive and that he likes repetition and doesn't like change. He said he's kept many of the Big Mac boxes and receipts over the years, and has noted his purchases in calendars he's kept.

 

McDonald's says there are 540 calories in a Big Mac, which is more than a quarter of the calories a person on a 2,000-calorie diet would consume. The burger also contains 29 grams of fat and 1,040 grams of sodium, which are both more than 40 percent of the Food and Drug Administration's daily recommended value for a 2,000-calorie diet.

 

Tara Gidus, a registered dietitian in Orlando, Fla., said she wouldn't recommend Gorske's Big Mac diet, and that he's likely stayed relatively healthy because of good genetics and because he doesn't order a lot of extras, such as fries and sodas.

 

She said the Big Mac provides protein and grains, which the body needs, and that she would be "less concerned about the bad stuff in the Big Mac and more concerned about the good stuff he's missing," such as fruits and vegetables.

 

Gorske said he normally buys six on Monday and eight on Thursday and freezes or refrigerates them and warms them when he wants to eat them, so he doesn't have to run to the restaurant all the time.

 

Gorske said he likes other foods, including bratwurst and lobsters, but that he loves Big Macs and his wife Mary, a nurse, never has to worry about making him a meal.

 

"I really do enjoy every Big Mac," he said.

 

He said his wife jokes about ending his streak.

 

"She says ... when she has to put them in a blender, it's over," he said.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=13624305

McDirties

 

 

how can people still eat that shit? :lol:

Burger King is so much better. Freshly made and the meat actually tastes like meat. :escaping3:

Burger King is so much better. Freshly made and the meat actually tastes like meat. :escaping3:

 

this.

 

 

McDirties makes me feel like shit after eating it. The only thing I'll ever get is a drink there or the apple pie, and very seldom a $1 burger.

Never again. :awesome:

It does make me laugh when it says things like 'McDonald's defended Ronald...'

 

The McDonald's in Morocco made me stop eating it here. It actually tasted nice as it was halal meat and not filled with loads of crap, and because of this it also filled you up as didn't have the addictive chemicals pumped into it to keep you hungry, or at least not as many as them. It meant that if you had McDonal's for dinner at the beach, you only had a snack for the evening meal. You'd never be able to do that in this country. You'd be starving after about two hours.

 

The only down side in Morocco was that the picture on the paper that goes on top of your tray was of loads of cows with their throats slit being prayed over :laugh3:

The only down side in Morocco was that the picture on the paper that goes on top of your tray was of loads of cows with their throats slit being prayed over :laugh3:

 

:inquisitive::wreck:

 

 

no wonder you said you weren't hungry after eating McDirts in Morocco... the image must've scarred you :lol:

Now I want McDonalds.

:inquisitive::wreck:

 

 

no wonder you said you weren't hungry after eating McDirts in Morocco... the image must've scarred you :lol:

 

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

 

Well, at least in Engerland they use real sugar instead of all this fake arse corn syrup shiznit.

 

 

 

 

IF ((corn_syrup + processed_food) .eq. real_food) THEN

we_are_doomed

END IF

Subway is better

:inquisitive::wreck:

 

 

no wonder you said you weren't hungry after eating McDirts in Morocco... the image must've scarred you :lol:

 

I don't mind it, I am aware that the meat I eat is murdered. I still eat it.

 

Subway is better

 

Meh, Subway might be better but it is still overrated compared to a good sandwich. It's the best of a bad bunch and still mega unhealthy if you want one that actually tastes of something.

McDonald's is only really good when you are drunk

Or hungover.

McDonald's is only really good when you are drunk

 

Haha this

but most of the time there is no McDonald's around when I am drunk...

You should get drunk in the morning more often :thinking:

what I hate about McDo (here) is the spaghetti. Yuck. It's watery and it's too bland.

 

 

 

 

 

has a better spaghetti.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good thing l'm not used to eating fast-foods anymore.

 

Meh, Subway might be better but it is still overrated compared to a good sandwich. It's the best of a bad bunch and still mega unhealthy if you want one that actually tastes of something.

 

the meat/cheese/pickles combination is perfect here :dazzled:

Spaghetti?

I don't think I'd like fast food spaghetti.

the meat/cheese/pickles combination is perfect here :dazzled:

 

But not healthy and you could make a better one yourself for a fraction of the price.

I have the Subway melt. Three meats and cheese on hearty Italian.

You should get drunk in the morning more often :thinking:

 

Are there more McDonald's around in the mornings than at nights?:thinking:

McDonald's sells Spaghetti?:wreck:

Are there more McDonald's around in the mornings than at nights?:thinking:

 

I thought you meant they weren't 24 hour and therefore were shut.

McDonald's sells Spaghetti?:wreck:

 

It sells all sorts in different countries haha. S'all greasy though.

I thought you meant they weren't 24 hour and therefore were shut.

 

oooh right I didn't even think about this haha....well the McDonald's in my town are usually open 24 hours, but I don't get drunk here anymore.....I get drunk at home in the village and there is no McDonald's....I'd need a taxi to get there