McDonalds
#1
08-23-2006, 01:39 PM
McDonalds
McDonalds Offering Toy Hummers With Happy Meals
It's easy to pick on McDonalds, so when tempted, I try to do so with a grain of salt. Still, for a company who is doing the right thing in so many places, it's rather ironic to see them giving away toy Hummers in happy meals. It's not quite as bad as giving away, say, cigarettes, but it definitely sends an odd message from a company that claims publicly to have environmental and social interests at their heart.
Although a toy Hummer might not *really* be such a big deal, finding one in your happy meal just adds weight to he Hummer's inescapable symbolism in a way that's almost cliche. Sending a message of gluttony to kids just ain't right. I'm guessing GM shelled out a lot of cash for this, which puts some shame on them as well, but sheesh, I'm surprised McDonalds went ahead with this program knowing the glaring target it makes them. See Ronald McHummer for more.
[IMG]local://upfiles/111/1F0689667ECD43F98730DFDDC5FEC224.jpg[/IMG]
It's easy to pick on McDonalds, so when tempted, I try to do so with a grain of salt. Still, for a company who is doing the right thing in so many places, it's rather ironic to see them giving away toy Hummers in happy meals. It's not quite as bad as giving away, say, cigarettes, but it definitely sends an odd message from a company that claims publicly to have environmental and social interests at their heart.
Although a toy Hummer might not *really* be such a big deal, finding one in your happy meal just adds weight to he Hummer's inescapable symbolism in a way that's almost cliche. Sending a message of gluttony to kids just ain't right. I'm guessing GM shelled out a lot of cash for this, which puts some shame on them as well, but sheesh, I'm surprised McDonalds went ahead with this program knowing the glaring target it makes them. See Ronald McHummer for more.
[IMG]local://upfiles/111/1F0689667ECD43F98730DFDDC5FEC224.jpg[/IMG]
#2
08-23-2006, 01:50 PM
RE: McDonalds
Critics slam McDonald's Hummer toys
Chain calls kids' meal prizes a serving of fun; environmentalists say it taints firm's green gains.
Melanie Warner / New York Times
When General Motors introduced the 3-ton, 11-miles-to-the-gallon Hummer H2 four years ago, it redefined American extravagance. But with gas hovering at $3 a gallon and threatening to go higher, sales of Hummers are declining as Americans become increasingly conscious of gas mileage.
McDonald's, however, appears not to have gotten the message. This week, the restaurant chain started putting toy Hummers in children's Happy Meal boxes, calling it the "Hummer of a Summer" promotion. Television and radio ads, which started running this week, feature a family riding in a Hummer on the way to McDonald's.
With enough visits to McDonald's, kids will be able to collect eight different Hummers in a variety of colors, including two versions of the H1, the original and most monstrous member of the Hummer family, which General Motors stopped making in June.
The promotion runs until the end of August and is aimed at young boys. Girls can choose to get Polly Pocket fashion dolls in their Happy Meals instead.
Environmental groups are appalled with the promotion. Brendan Bell, a clean energy analyst at the Sierra Club, says Hummers in Happy Meals are about as responsible as "dipping a Big Mac in the fry oil and serving it to your kids."
McDonald's is trying to make Hummers look cool, Bell said, but the vehicles are anything but.
"The technology is passe," he said. "For the H1 and H2, they're running it off an engine that hasn't been fundamentally redesigned since 1950s. What the next generation needs is better technology in our vehicles so that we can cut our dependence on oil and curb global warming."
In a written statement, Bill Lamar, McDonald's chief marketing officer, said the promotion was intended to bring "the fun and excitement of Hummer vehicles" to "McDonald's youngest guests." The company did not make anyone available for an interview.
General Motors says the H2 and H3 benefit from a "host of advanced technologies" and that the H2's Vortec "is one of the most efficient engines in production today."
Chain calls kids' meal prizes a serving of fun; environmentalists say it taints firm's green gains.
Melanie Warner / New York Times
When General Motors introduced the 3-ton, 11-miles-to-the-gallon Hummer H2 four years ago, it redefined American extravagance. But with gas hovering at $3 a gallon and threatening to go higher, sales of Hummers are declining as Americans become increasingly conscious of gas mileage.
McDonald's, however, appears not to have gotten the message. This week, the restaurant chain started putting toy Hummers in children's Happy Meal boxes, calling it the "Hummer of a Summer" promotion. Television and radio ads, which started running this week, feature a family riding in a Hummer on the way to McDonald's.
With enough visits to McDonald's, kids will be able to collect eight different Hummers in a variety of colors, including two versions of the H1, the original and most monstrous member of the Hummer family, which General Motors stopped making in June.
The promotion runs until the end of August and is aimed at young boys. Girls can choose to get Polly Pocket fashion dolls in their Happy Meals instead.
Environmental groups are appalled with the promotion. Brendan Bell, a clean energy analyst at the Sierra Club, says Hummers in Happy Meals are about as responsible as "dipping a Big Mac in the fry oil and serving it to your kids."
McDonald's is trying to make Hummers look cool, Bell said, but the vehicles are anything but.
"The technology is passe," he said. "For the H1 and H2, they're running it off an engine that hasn't been fundamentally redesigned since 1950s. What the next generation needs is better technology in our vehicles so that we can cut our dependence on oil and curb global warming."
In a written statement, Bill Lamar, McDonald's chief marketing officer, said the promotion was intended to bring "the fun and excitement of Hummer vehicles" to "McDonald's youngest guests." The company did not make anyone available for an interview.
General Motors says the H2 and H3 benefit from a "host of advanced technologies" and that the H2's Vortec "is one of the most efficient engines in production today."
#3
08-23-2006, 02:05 PM
RE: McDonalds
Happy Meal Hummers make some not so happy
Ronald McHummer is not the name of a gay Scottish **** star, as I first assumed, but is instead a Web site set up by some people who feel that the toy Hummers that come with McDonald's Happy Meals are sending the wrong message to kids. No one has asked my opinion on this, but that's never stopped me from expressing it, so here goes: I have no opinion. More precisely, my feelings on SUVs and their affect on the environment is a moot point. To me, this is a matter of picking your battles, and going after trinkets that come in a box with a lamp-heated patty on a stale bun and lukewarm french fries doesn't seem like it's going to do much for your cause. The site has a program where you can create an anti-SUV slogan on a McDonald's sign, but that's only going to attract people who already have negative feelings toward those vehicles. To be fair, the site does link to other sources to back up some of their claims, but saying a toy Hummer is somehow going to lead to kids purchasing them later in life is like saying any kid with the game Operation is going to grow up to be a surgeon. Okay, I was trying to be funny there, but my point is that to a small child, these are toys and nothing more. They'll wind up in the toy box with everything else and will not, as the site seems to suggest, plant some kind of subconscious message in their minds that will render them powerless to resist the urge to buy an SUV when they get older
Ronald McHummer is not the name of a gay Scottish **** star, as I first assumed, but is instead a Web site set up by some people who feel that the toy Hummers that come with McDonald's Happy Meals are sending the wrong message to kids. No one has asked my opinion on this, but that's never stopped me from expressing it, so here goes: I have no opinion. More precisely, my feelings on SUVs and their affect on the environment is a moot point. To me, this is a matter of picking your battles, and going after trinkets that come in a box with a lamp-heated patty on a stale bun and lukewarm french fries doesn't seem like it's going to do much for your cause. The site has a program where you can create an anti-SUV slogan on a McDonald's sign, but that's only going to attract people who already have negative feelings toward those vehicles. To be fair, the site does link to other sources to back up some of their claims, but saying a toy Hummer is somehow going to lead to kids purchasing them later in life is like saying any kid with the game Operation is going to grow up to be a surgeon. Okay, I was trying to be funny there, but my point is that to a small child, these are toys and nothing more. They'll wind up in the toy box with everything else and will not, as the site seems to suggest, plant some kind of subconscious message in their minds that will render them powerless to resist the urge to buy an SUV when they get older
