At School
McDonald’s spends 40 % of its multi billion dollar marketing budget* on marketing directly to kids and what better way to indoctrinate them than at school. As school is a place of learning and holds a high level of trust with kids, the presence of McDonald’s helps to boost its brand perception through positive brand association by leveraging their appeal within the education system. ‘MC Spellit’ competitions, ‘Ronald McDonald roadshows’ to tackle bullying and even ‘McTeacher evenings’ at the local McDonald’s to raise money for the school. McDonald’s has identified the grossly underfunded education system as an easy way to market its so called Social responsibility. But please remember McDonald’s is in the business to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Soda!
Hospitals
The hypocrisy is astounding. McDonald’s has managed to work its way into the Hospital system. The place where you go to get better when you’re sick is housing a “family” restaurant whose Main aim is to sell your kids more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas! McDonald’s food is responsible for high levels of food related illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity levels within children that are 4 times higher than that of 30 years ago*. Hospitals all around the world, including Pediatric hospitals have McDonald’s in their lobbies and food courts, and some have McDonald’s as the ONLY food option!
Happy Meals and Happy Playgrounds Equals Happy Kids?The invention of the happy meal and playgrounds helped to secure McDonald’s as THE family restaurant and target the little ones they were intending to capture. As children are guided by what’s fun and exciting rather than nutritional value and health, the Happy Meal and colorful playgrounds holds every child’s fascination. Something greasy, something sweet, a new toy to unwrap and a playground to let loose on. McDonald’s were able to lure kids and their Mums and Dads at alarming rates as kids got hooked into the “McDonald’s experience” and parents were able to relax and have a little breathing space over their ‘McCappuccino’. Have your own McDonald’s birthday party and sit in your very own themed McDonald’s high chair. From their first birthday, they are being seduced back in time and time again by collector toys, undercover playgrounds and food that has had the largest and most negative impact on the industrial food system and how we eat today.
McEducationIf McDonald’s can’t make it into your child’s classroom, how about the classroom makes it to McDonald’s? About 5 years ago McDonald’s started offering nutritional classes or school field trips for kids to come to a McDonald’s restaurant and learn about nutritional health. All the while they are learning about nutritional health they are doing so in one of the establishments that is partly responsible for the current childhood obesity epidemic. On one hand they are learning about the nutrition of vegetables and then they get to make their own McDonald’s hamburger. Now which part of this so called educational trip do you think the child is going to remember? What vitamin can you find in a carrot or which comes first, the all beef patties, then the special sauce… oh that’s right and then the lettuce and the cheese and pickled onions on a sesame seed bun. There is NOTHING educational in this field trip as McDonald’s Aim is to sell your child more Hamburgers, Fries and Sodas.
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