More Heat On McDonald's Happy Meals

  • August 4, 2010
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) has launched a letter-writing campaing to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner demanding that McDonald's pull its current Happy Meal promotion featuring Marvel comic book heroes.

CCFC objects to The Human Torch toy figure and the message emitted by another figure, The Thing ("It's clobberin' time!"). 

"It's bad enough to use junk toys to sell children on junk food," said CCFC director Dr. Susan Linn. "Now, for preschool boys, a so-called Happy Meal at McDonald's features the horrifying spectacle of a man engulfed in flames and a menacing figure that explicitly spurs them to violence."

In April, Santa Clara County, Calif. passed an ordinance preventing McDonald's and other restaurants from including toys or other incentives appealing to children with the purchase of any meal containing more than 485 calories, more than 600 mgs of sodium and high levels of fat and sugar.

In June, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed notice of its intent to sue McDonald's through state courts if the chain continues to use toy giveaways in marketing Happy Meals.

McDonald's had not issued a response to the CCFC campaign as of this posting.

 

 

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1 comment about "More Heat On McDonald's Happy Meals".
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  1. Jeffery Bialek from ARAnet, Inc., August 5, 2010 at 12:19 p.m.

    Dear Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC),

    I believe these are comic book/cartoon characters. Most pre-school boys have already seen cartoons with these characters and much worse. Most are probably able to draw the line between a flaming action figure and an actual flaming person...most understand that "clobbering time" is a phrase that goes along with the comic book setting. If not, I believe it would be the parents’ responsibility to teach them the difference between the two: Between good manners and playtime behavior, make-believe vs. reality.

    Then again, if you are so fearful of the bad influence that these toys may have on your children, you could choose not to purchase them or say no to the toy when you buy the meal. Better yet, if you are concerned about the toys, the food....don't take your children to McDonald's in the first place!

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