"RonaldMcdonald" news and stories

Apparently, the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated -- Ronald McDonald, the red-haired clown that's been the (silent) mouthpiece of the Golden Arches for 48 years, is back in a new ad campaign for the chain.

Ronald will star in several new commercials for Happy Meals. The spots direct kids to a HappyMeal.com website, reports Nation's Restaurant News. The site is basically another commercial -- kids are supposed to upload pictures of themselves for videos called "Ronaldgrams." (The idea is for the children to email the videos to their friends.)


Kids may like it, but the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Corporate Accountability International don't -- the two groups have been after McDonald's for years about marketing directly to young consumers. "Plain and simple, if McDonald's were truly concerned about 'parental choice and control,' they'd market their offerings directly to parents, not children," Lapidus said to NRN.

What do you think? Are you glad to have the clown back in your life?

A consumer advocacy group claims it's time for Ronald McDonald to go, saying the nation's largest fast-food chain's "Chief Happiness Officer" has too much influence on kids, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Corporate Accountability International will release a report on Wednesday looking at how McDonald's uses Ronald McDonald as a marketing tool to market unhealthy products to children. The report includes information on childhood obesity rates, health and how Americans see Ronald McDonald.

"For nearly 50 years McDonald's and its iconic clown Ronald have hooked kids on unhealthy food, spurring a deadly epidemic," Deborah Lapidus, senior organizer for CAI, told Slashfood.

"The report is ultimately making the case that it's time McDonald's stopped targeting our kids directly with fast food marketing," Lapidus said. "Ronald deserves a break and so do we."

McDonald's, however, says Ronald McDonald is a "beloved brand ambassador" for the fast-food chain.

Is Ronald McDonald a beloved corporate mascot or a sinister huckster who gets kids hooked on junk food?

Corporate Accountability International, a watchdog organization based in Boston, claims that through television commercials and by appearing at schools, libraries, hospitals and McDonald's restaurants, Ronald is marketing directly to impressionable children. The result they say contributes to diet-related diseases like obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

As part of a larger initiative to fight fast-food marketing aimed at kids, the organization has started the "Where's Ronald" initiative, a Ronald McDonald scavenger hunt in which activists track down the clown by photographing or videotaping him at public appearances.

"We need your help to expose the near ubiquity of the clown and the ways it is used to hook our kids on food that makes them sick," CAI says. The grand prize? A gift certificate to a "sustainable, healthy restaurant near the winning participant's home."

Whoever did up this car clearly has an almost pathological obsession with McDonald's and far too much time on their hands. I'd love to know whether the interior has a yellow roof and red velvet seats. Or a shake machine, for that matter. Mickey D.'s should cut this dude a check, since he's done such a fine job of showcasing their brand in such a bizarre fashion. There's even a Super Size Me bumper sticker. I wonder if the horn plays the entire "I'm lovin; it" jingle or just the "da da da da da"?
[via SuperSized Meals]

Source

Before I even went to this list of American food icons that never really existed, the first name that immediately popped into my head was Betty Crocker. And yup, she's on the list. Along with Ronald McDonald, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jemima.

I can understand why the clown is on there, though he doesn't really seem to fit in with the other three. Betty Crocker, Uncle Ben, and Aunt Jemima aren't just icons like Ronald McDonald, they also have seemed like people who actually do the cooking and not just represent a company. In fact, Uncle Ben was recently promoted to be Chairman of the Board of his company, and Betty Crocker has become sexier over the years.

But what fake icons are missing from this short list?

[via Jade]