WP: McDonald's Makes Ronald a Health Ambassador

[Sgent]

McDonald's Corp., known for its Big Macs and fries, is sending its flame-headed mascot, Ronald McDonald, into elementary schools to push fitness -- part of a corporate campaign to address the childhood obesity issue.

Ronald, the company's newly dubbed "chief happiness officer," has become the company's "ambassador for an active, balanced lifestyle," McDonald's Chief Creative Officer Marlena Peleo-Lazar told a government panel yesterday. Her announcement came the same week an appeals court reinstated a lawsuit against McDonald's in which two New York teenagers claim they got fat because the company hid the health risks of its food.

<snip>

The campaign was criticized by Harvard psychologist Susan Linn, author of "Consuming Kids." "It's just another marketing ploy for McDonald's," she said. "It has no place in the school. The amount of exercise it will take to exercise off everything these kids consume will take all day."

The program has been reviewed and approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics. "We're not endorsing McDonald's or Ronald McDonald, but wanted to make sure the message was safe and appropriate," said Reginald L. Washington, co-chairman of the academy's task force on obesity. The program, he said, "takes advantage of the fact that Ronald McDonald has such recognition with kids that if he tells them to get moving, maybe they will do it."

Link Washington Post

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Will Joe Camel be subbing for him?

:shrug:

[Guaranteed]

3. Hee hee nt

[Guaranteed]

2. With special guest, Joe Camel! nt

[WMliberal]

4. Hang on, my head is about to explode from the cognitive dissonance.

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

[elehhhhna]

5. O'Reillly 's gonna also do lectures on good telephone manners.

[fryguy]

6. will the Marlboro man be accompanying him?

the proverbial dynamic duo of health and fitness joining forces

:puke:

[VegasWolf]

7. I wonder if he will be telling kids not to eat fast food. n/t

[pinniped]

8. See!...deceptive advertising! Unless the evil clown seen in John Gacy's..

painting will come clean.

[Spinzonner]

9. Maybe they could include videos of their last two CEO's

before they died of diseases linked to excess fats

[ewagner]

10. What bothers me most

is that this is only "partial disclosure" to the kids......

Yes, the American Academy of Pediatrics is right....Ronald McD telling kids to get off their buts and exercise is a good message....

BUT...............

Ronald should also be disclosing...

...the amount of fats in their meals is unhealthy at ANY AGE
...the amount of sodium in thier porducts is enough to give a HORSE HYPERTENSION!!!!

C'mon Ronald...the truth, the whole truth and NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH....

[Karenina]

23. About the blow job he got

from Coulter too? :shrug:

[unpossibles]

11. don't forget his friend

Pepsi

"Other major food companies also are promoting fitness in schools. Last fall, PepsiCo Inc. sent fitness educational materials to elementary schools, reaching 3 million students."

hey, no one questioned it when the Beef industry sent in their PR/"Educational" materials either.

[gratuitous]

15. I'm gonna graduate from Bovine University!

Unlike my crazy friend here in this thread.

[mtnester]

12. Probably bringing the Hamburgular with him...

you know, while everyone is distracted.

[eternalburn]

13. Meatclown...

http://atomfilms.shockwave.com/af/content/atom_445

[Megahurtz]

14. What does that clown have to do with health and fitness?

:puke:

[unpossibles]

16. "What does that clown have to do with health and fitness?"

simple - he helps the kids establish the bad habits necessary to carry McDonald's business forward.

[Pale_Rider]

19. And heck, if he can encourage health ...

... concerns so people live another couple months, so many more Big Macs can be sold.

Eat that quarter pounder slowly ...

[daleo]

17. Joe Camel should give kids lectures on clean air, too. n/t

On edit - lots got the Joe Camel thing.

[Sabriel]

18. I can't WAIT to see who's gonna push abstinence!!!

Ambassador Wilt Chamberlain?

[mitchum]

20. Well, they've been feeding kids shit for decades...

so this is really nothing new.

[Chicago Democrat]

21. The new happy meals give apples instead of fries and juice or bottled h2o

for drinks. McDonalds is trying.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

22. It's official: We now live in Bizarro World.