• Chicago Breaking Business News, Monday, March 29, 2010 10:47 AM

A group of health advocates is planning a lunchtime "retirement party" Wednesday for Ronald McDonald at the McDonald's outlet at Chicago Avenue and State Street in Chicago, Julie Wernau reports. They say the famed Chief Happiness Officer, who has had a 50-year run, has too much influence on children.

Corporate Accountability International, which was behind the effort to retire Joe Camel and also has campaigned against bottled water companies, says that a survey it conducted shows that most Americans agree that McDonald's should stop gearing its advertising toward children in light of what they called a "fast-food-industry childhood obesity crisis."

A spokeswoman for McDonald's says Ronald's role is to bring out the fun side of having meals with family and to promote an active lifestyle. "He is the heart and soul of Ronald McDonald House Charities," McDonald's tells the Chicago Tribune in a written statement, and he also "helps deliver messages to families on many important subjects such as safety, literacy, and the importance of physical activity and making balanced food choices."

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