McDonald's fights back against hit film

[Michael]

At first glance the text of the advert running in national newspapers today reads like an attack on the burger and fries giant McDonald's.

The advert says it supports the core argument of a film where a man who eats burgers for 30 days piles on weight to such a health damaging extent that his doctors order him to stop eating them.

But it is not placed by campaigners savaging the firm's nutritional record - it is placed by McDonald's.


Full story...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,2763,1287080,00.html

[Walter]

In the US McDonald's is being sued by obese people...
Funny article! :D

The ad says it now offers salads, fruit and organic products alongside the Big Mac and fries.
Organic food at McDonalds? Ahaha. I can't wait to see that in America! If they started offering an organic veggie burger, that tasted good and was vegan, and was as cheap as the other burgers, I'd start eating there again! :D

[schu]

hilarious..and people dismissed his film as nothing..if he gets mcevils to become healthier it would be pretty funny

[kat]

The salads have (or had) more calories than the burgers. It was great that they started doing quorn burgers- I encouraged my friends to try them. I cant wait to see the film.

K

[frenchie]

The McDOnald's around here does Yves Veggie Burgers.....I think the burger itself is vegan, but the condiments aren't...Don't really know.

[Justin]

"In the US McDonald's is being sued by obese people who claim its products, supported by a lavish marketing campaign, helped make them fat." :mad:


That's the most blatently obvious act of trying to place blame on anyone but yourself, that I have ever seen. I agree that their food is terrible for you, hence the reason I wouldn't eat it, even if I wasn't vegan. It isn't McDonald's responsibility to cater to obese Americans who "can't help" eating at McDonalds. None of them should receive one penny from this. McDonalds should sue them for being so ignorant.

[The Rev]

"In the US McDonald's is being sued by obese people who claim its products, supported by a lavish marketing campaign, helped make them fat." :mad:


That's the most blatently obvious act of trying to place blame on anyone but yourself, that I have ever seen. I agree that their food is terrible for you, hence the reason I wouldn't eat it, even if I wasn't vegan. It isn't McDonald's responsibility to cater to obese Americans who "can't help" eating at McDonalds. None of them should receive one penny from this. McDonalds should sue them for being so ignorant.

I agree with the argument that a person's health is ultimately his/her own responsibility. However, one should not play down the millions of dollars spent by McGreasies and it's ilk to psychologically manipulate consumers via the media. Corporations like this invest alot in stimulating unconscious desires, and associating their products with basic needs, such as sex, social acceptance, etc. I really don't think so many people would eat at these places if the advertising were not so sophisticated.

Some blame does belong with McDonalds, but not enough for consumers to abdicate their own accountability for their health (i.e. no one was holding a gun to their head).

My 2¢

:)

The Rev

[synergy]

i agree entirely rev.
Nobody has made anyone eat fast food. People are able to make their own choices and part of the responsibility of life is having to deal with the consequences of our choices. That's just the way it works.

As for Mcdee's, I haven't eaten there for years, just because everything tastes like grease. I would try their veggieburger, but.... I don't think I'll ever get around to it.
Not when there are any other choices available.
slightly ot:
I had the BK veggie burger last night with a side garden salad, and it was so good.

[Justin]

Agreed, they do, and everyone knows they do. The fact that they do this however, does not warrant them being sued. I also find irony in the specific group of people that are suing them. I just can't believe blame is being placed in this manner and that they will probably actually get a settlement out of this. I'm not a supporter of McDonalds by any means, but I hope they fight this tooth and nail.

[The Rev]

No, it certainly doesn't warrant a lawsuit; however, the lawsuit might warrant some incredulous laughter.

I really wish we had clearer standards for what constitutes fraudulent advertising. It seems to me that if a company tries to associate a product with social acceptance, for example, that it should actually have some meaningful potential to grant said acceptance, or the advertisement should be considered misleading and, therefore, illegal. If an ad blatantly lies, it is so labeled. I don't see why lying to the subconscious mind is any different than lying to the conscious mind.

:nigel:

The Rev

[Alfiedog]

I agree with the argument that a person's health is ultimately his/her own responsibility. However, one should not play down the millions of dollars spent by McGreasies and it's ilk to psychologically manipulate consumers via the media. Corporations like this invest alot in stimulating unconscious desires, and associating their products with basic needs, such as sex, social acceptance, etc. I really don't think so many people would eat at these places if the advertising were not so sophisticated.

Some blame does belong with McDonalds, but not enough for consumers to abdicate their own accountability for their health (i.e. no one was holding a gun to their head).

My 2¢

:)

The Rev

I don't think any of the blame belongs to McDonalds on this particular issue. People are not dumb - they know that advertising is just that - rave about your product and don't mention any of the cons. What about the rest of us who saw the commercials and chose not to go to McDonalds (take away the veggie angle for a moment?)

[kat]

Okay this proably isn't completely true- but I will keep you updated as it is apparently going to court. Baicallly my best friends mum's friend got gonorea of the mouth from eating a burger at Mc Donalds. She was eating the burger and it tasted "funny" so she didn't finish it. She became ill the next day. She had it sent of to be anaylised (like you do) and when the results came back they found not one but two different types of sperm.

I can't completely remember this one- but at Mc D's in an area I use to live in- it closed down overnight. It was something to do with some girl who always got her milkshake from there- and she got ill and yup someone had been regularly jerking off in her shake. Nice!

K

[Joe]

Okay this proably isn't completely true- but I will keep you updated as it is apparently going to court. Baicallly my best friends mum's friend got gonorea of the mouth from eating a burger at Mc Donalds. She was eating the burger and it tasted "funny" so she didn't finish it. She became ill the next day. She had it sent of to be anaylised (like you do) and when the results came back they found not one but two different types of sperm.

I can't completely remember this one- but at Mc D's in an area I use to live in- it closed down overnight. It was something to do with some girl who always got her milkshake from there- and she got ill and yup someone had been regularly jerking off in her shake. Nice!

K

Horrible! :(

[Justin]

Advertising is a ploy to get people to buy a product, nothing more. Granted, outright lying in commercials is unacceptable, but what McDonalds is doing is what EVERY company in the world is doing. They just happen to be drawing extra attention to themselves because a handful of people need a scapegoat for their personal problems.
Take clothing outfitters for example, they are far worse at letting people know how "uncool" you're going to be if you don't have said brand of clothing. You don't see people in an uproar over American Eagle or The Gap.
People are conscious beings with the ability to reason and think for ourselves. Having to place bans on advertising because people are dumb enough to buy into it is a load of crap.

[epski]

:spew:

[epski]

Oh, and BTW, I think it's very smart of them to switch from denying the film's claims to agreeing with it, but making it clear that the film relies on a gimmick. Flip-floppers. ;)

[Wolfie]

"In the US McDonald's is being sued by obese people who claim its products, supported by a lavish marketing campaign, helped make them fat." :mad:


That's the most blatently obvious act of trying to place blame on anyone but yourself, that I have ever seen. I agree that their food is terrible for you, hence the reason I wouldn't eat it, even if I wasn't vegan. It isn't McDonald's responsibility to cater to obese Americans who "can't help" eating at McDonalds. None of them should receive one penny from this. McDonalds should sue them for being so ignorant.

That's the way of life in America. It's never my fault, someone else made me do it and I should sue. Of course, at the same time I wouldn't mind seeing McDonald's lose money in such as suit just because I like to see them lose money any way possible.

[Dirty Martini]

They're much more health-oriented here in Australia.

They have a "Salads Plus" menu which offers salads, low-fat yogurt, a chickpea patty burger which is vegan w/o the mayo, fruit cups, and a few other healthy things. Nothing on the menu has more than 10g of fat.

They also have a kids' fitness day that they do once a week in various areas, teaching kids how to be active & have fun.

If they can do that here, why aren't they doing it in the US? Makes me really feel like they don't care about americans getting fat off McD's food as much as they say they do...

[Dirty Martini]

PS - SuperSize Me was a big hit here.

[Wolfie]

They're much more health-oriented here in Australia.

They have a "Salads Plus" menu which offers salads, low-fat yogurt, a chickpea patty burger which is vegan w/o the mayo, fruit cups, and a few other healthy things. Nothing on the menu has more than 10g of fat.

They also have a kids' fitness day that they do once a week in various areas, teaching kids how to be active & have fun.

If they can do that here, why aren't they doing it in the US? Makes me really feel like they don't care about americans getting fat off McD's food as much as they say they do...


Because most Americans don't want that. Most Americans probably don't know what a chickpea is. Atkins is all the rage, ya know, and that burger is great for you w/o the bun!