• December 8, 2011

The government of Sao Paulo, Brazil has fined McDonald's $1.8 million as a result of a local nonprofit's objections to the chain's toy giveaways with Happy Meals, reports Ad Age.

The Instituto Alana's Children and Consumption Project filed a complaint with with a division of Sao Paulo's Department of Justice and Defense of Citizens, contending that the toy premiums with kids' meals "distort values" and encourage unhealthy eating habits.

Arcos Dorados, McDonalds's largest Latin American franchisee, is appealing.

Instituto Alana had already filed the same complaint with Brazil's self-regulatory body, Conar, which rejected it, stating that the institute "doesn't have the Stalinist right to decide how [parents should] raise children and form their habits."