"Ronald McDonald told to retire"

[Mistikal]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/19/3221500.htm (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/19/3221500.htm)

Of all the things in that article, this irks me the most:


A group of nuns has also proposed the fast food giant issue a report assessing its response to "public concerns regarding linkages of fast food to childhood obesity"

I don't see how it's McDonald's fault that your kid is getting fat? Sure, your child might crave a Cheeseburger or something, but it's not like McDonald's are forcing you to buy the food... you're the one purchasing it afterall!

[morgazmatron]

yeah thats pisses me off too.

They actually do a lot of good for local sport and community and stuff like that.

Nowadays its always someone elses fault. what happened to taking responsibilty for your actions?

[Alt_F4]

Interesting thoughts coming from a group linked to child molestation on multiple occasions.

[Adr3naL1N]

yeah thats pisses me off too.

They actually do a lot of good for local sport and community and stuff like that.

Nowadays its always someone elses fault. what happened to taking responsibilty for your actions?


Agree 110% always try to lay the blame somewhere else.

[newbie101]

agree 100% on the accountability issue, but I also think that McDonlads, and all the other fast food places have to take some of the responsibility for their actions both now and in the past.
Anyway, there is nothing wrong with a healthy level of scruitiny on the marketing activities of a company known to have used underhanded and manipulative marketing policies in the past,

[Mad_Aussie]

I also think that McDonlads, and all the other fast food places have to take some of the responsibility for their actions both now and in the past.

It's 100% about diet, not about the food they sell. You don't see people complaining to Western Star about their full fat butter being sold to kids, or Brownes selling their full cream iced coffees to kids... Go to Coles and you'll see hundreds of products far worse for you to eat reguarly than fast food, yet you never hear about these whinge-groups bitching about supermarkets.

[R3N]

Interesting thoughts coming from a group linked to child molestation on multiple occasions.

fat kids are unattractive

[newbie101]

It's 100% about diet, not about the food they sell. You don't see people complaining to Western Star about their full fat butter being sold to kids, or Brownes selling their full cream iced coffees to kids... Go to Coles and you'll see hundreds of products far worse for you to eat reguarly than fast food, yet you never hear about these whinge-groups bitching about supermarkets.

I reckon if brownes or western star ever started mass media marketing with a clown and the offer of a free toy then I reckon you might. This isnt just about the products they are selling, its about the manner in which they sell them.

[DISTRBD]

I reckon if brownes or western star ever started mass media marketing with a clown and the offer of a free toy then I reckon you might. This isnt just about the products they are selling, its about the manner in which they sell them.


Blame the dickhead parents

[Mad_Aussie]

Blame the dickhead parents

Exactly. The four-year-old isn't handing over the cash, it's the fat fuck parent that is. Watched this huge bitch buy fucking Big Mac meals for her two ultra-fat kids who would have been younger than ten... And then ordered a diet coke each for them. People like that should be knocked on the head and turned into hamburgers themselves, too many morons fucking up the gene pool and then whinging about it like it wasn't their fault.

[V70R]

Blame the dickhead parents

+100

[newbie101]

Fair enough its the fat parents fault, let Macca's do what ever the hell they like in the way of marketing, because it has absolutely no effect on the obesity of our kids
Then we can carry on forking over a larger and larger percentage of our income to prop up the public health system, or stand by and watch as it implodes.

But thats OK, because its the fat fucking parents fault, not ours.

[V70R]

The Oxford dictionary has removed the word "Responsibility" from the 2012 edition.
Apparently the word has no further place in society.

[morgazmatron]

Fair enough its the fat parents fault, let Macca's do what ever the hell they like in the way of marketing, because it has absolutely no effect on the obesity of our kids
Then we can carry on forking over a larger and larger percentage of our income to prop up the public health system, or stand by and watch as it implodes.

But thats OK, because its the fat fucking parents fault, not ours.


I'm sure they have had some dodgey advertising practises in the past. But there has been so much scrutiny on them in the last 10-15 years that i remember anyway. If you blame the advertising for getting fat you deserve a heart attack.

Its not like its not known that there is a shit load of fat and other bad stuff in their food.

[RICEY]

Fair enough its the fat parents fault, let Macca's do what ever the hell they like in the way of marketing, because it has absolutely no effect on the obesity of our kids
Then we can carry on forking over a larger and larger percentage of our income to prop up the public health system, or stand by and watch as it implodes.

But thats OK, because its the fat fucking parents fault, not ours.

Marketing is irrelevent to child obesity as a childs health is ultimately the parents responsibility. Its common knowledge that fast food isnt healthy so no matter how flashy the marketing is it doesnt change facts.

[Mad_Aussie]

Fair enough its the fat parents fault, let Macca's do what ever the hell they like in the way of marketing, because it has absolutely no effect on the obesity of our kids


Mate, I work in marketing, and as far as advertisments go, they are merely there to make you aware of the product.

The TVC doesn't reach out of your TV set and start forcing hamburgers down your throat. It just displays an engaging message, kid sees it, and then badgers the parent to buy it. Same as a commercial for a nerf gun, a lego set, or a new pokemon game.

It's up to the parent 100% to take that child to McDonalds, pay the money, and get them a hamburger. It's then 100% up to that parent to take the child there the next day. And the day after.

To blame advertising on the resulting obesity is totally retarded IMO. If you don't have the constitution to stop your child taking control of your expendeture and diet, then you have no right to be a parent. If the kid whinges about not getting their happy meal, smack them across the arse and tell them to fucking go outside and dig some holes or something.

I have a similar gripe about plain-packaging for cigarettes and advertising them etc. It's not the advertisments fault that you're smoking, it's your own damn fault.


The Oxford dictionary has removed the word "Responsibility" from the 2012 edition.
Apparently the word has no further place in society.

Absolutely on the money.

[newbie101]

[QUOTE=morgazmatron;843917]I'm sure they have had some dodgey advertising practises in the past. But there has been so much scrutiny on them in the last 10-15 years that i remember anyway. If you blame the advertising for getting fat you deserve a heart attack.
[QUOTE]

Um, what scruitiny? The marketing of junk food at kids is still industry regulated isnt it?

Add this to the fact that the dodgy marketing 10-15 years ago is what increased their market share to the point where they can offer the garbage food at a price cheaper than the healthy alternatives such as making your kid eat at home?

And Mad_Aussie - as you work in the industry, I wont tell you your own business, but can you honestly say that McDonalds marketing methods have absolutely nothing to do with child obesity?

[DISTRBD]

.

its the fat fucking parents fault, not ours.



Correct

[Mad_Aussie]

And Mad_Aussie - as you work in the industry, I wont tell you your own business, but can you honestly say that McDonalds marketing methods have absolutely nothing to do with child obesity?

I can say it, there's probably boundless resources out there that would try to contradict it, but at the end of the day any marketing campaign that alters consumer behaivour is only geared to get a customer into a shop. What and how much they buy beyond that scope is purely up to the customers own responsibility.

And that's the key word in the argument, 'responsibility'.

The person building the campaign is not responsible for you getting fat. You are. And no matter how many campaign groups try to argue the point, it will always boil down to an issue of consumer responsibility.

[morgazmatron]

Um, what scruitiny? The marketing of junk food at kids is still industry regulated isnt it?

Public scrutiny. There have been massive campaigns against them. Don't you watch Today Tonight?

But serriously I have seen countless exapmles of people or groups pointing out the fact that all those junk food places are bad for you. And the last few years they have changed their menu to have "healthier" options. Do you think they would have done that if there was no pressure to do so?

[Sully]

I don't get why maccas had to have healthy options. They used to sell pretty much just burgers and chips. If you want burgers and chip then go to maccas. If you want something healthy then don't go to maccas. Nobody is making you go there. The stupidity of a large amount of the population is phenomenal.

The type of fast food that we know today has been around for about 40 years now and the advertising hasn't really changed all that much for the last 20. I remember happy meals and toys and shit being around when I was a little tacker (I'm 26 now for those playing at home) and there wasn't an obesity epidemic back then. There was maybe 1 fat kid in a class of 30.

Parenting has changed. The little darlings have to be happy all the time. Give them what they want or they might crack the shits. This comes up over and over again.

[Jase]

But serriously I have seen countless exapmles of people or groups pointing out the fact that all those junk food places are bad for you. And the last few years they have changed their menu to have "healthier" options. Do you think they would have done that if there was no pressure to do so?

One of the old WA managers (cant remember his position now, I think he was in control of marketing etc) told me that the healthy menu is only there to help the image of the company, and they loose money on it coz no one ever orders any of it.
The only reason its there is for marketing. They don't mind loosing cash on it because the positive marketing image of the company far outweighs that cost.
People think "oh maccas has healthy options now, I'll go there and get that" and when they get here they magically change there mind and eat some pile of shit.

I don't think people should underestimate the power of marketing, especially over long periods of time. McDonald's was/is very good at it, even those fun birthday partys you had there when you were young were all part of a larger campaign. Good memories early in life, good perception of the company.

Marketing bad food/shit to kids is just wrong, and should be banned.

I am in no way saying that the buck doesnt stop with the parents, but the marketing has a greater effect than I think the general jist of this thread is suggesting.

If marketing has such little effect, then why would people like McDonald's spend million and millions on it every year, in every country?
*edit, estimated to have spent $2.1 Billion on marketing globally in 2009

[Jase]

p.s. Im still pissed of they removed all the Ronalds from the play grounds, so wanted to steal one and just drive round with him in the passenger seat

[Torquen]

Fat pingpingpingpings are fat because they eat the food. Not any fast food outlets fault that they're fat. Take responsibility for your own diet (and your kids diet) FFS.

[Sully]

I don't think people should underestimate the power of marketing, especially over long periods of time. McDonald's was/is very good at it, even those fun birthday partys you had there when you were young were all part of a larger campaign. Good memories early in life, good perception of the company.

Marketing bad food/shit to kids is just wrong, and should be banned.

I am in no way saying that the buck doesnt stop with the parents, but the marketing has a greater effect than I think the general jist of this thread is suggesting.

If marketing has such little effect, then why would people like McDonald's spend million and millions on it every year, in every country?
*edit, estimated to have spent $2.1 Billion on marketing globally in 2009

Nobody is doubting the power of marketing and maccas is proof that it works very very well. Everybody knows that maccas is bad for you, fuck they'll probably even admit it themselves. There's no big secret going on there. The issue is that people don't have the self control to limit their intake.

Saying that it shouldn't be marketed to kids is going overboard. The thing is that parents need to make sure it's a treat for the kids and not a regular part of the diet. Having the nasty shit every now and then isn't going to hurt you. Having it regularly is what fucks you up and that's where people are falling over.

It's exactly the same as smoking and drinking. Literally everyone knows it's bad for you, how much of it you have is completely up to you. Self control is the key.

[Gurney]

fat kids are unattractiveYes, but they are far easier to catch :)

[shifted]

Interesting thoughts coming from a group linked to child molestation on multiple occasions.


fat kids are unattractive

Fucking LOL!!

Simple - people have to take responsibility for their own actions. It is not up to a franchise to make the decision for you. They offer a service. It is up to you to take it.

Saying they are at fault is like saying Smirnoff is at fault for producing alcohol and thus muppets starting fights, and Marlboro is at fault for producing cigarettes as people are dying from smoking, and Holden is at fault for producing a car that allows people to write themselves off easily enough and the list goes on and on...

You make the choice, deal with it, live with it.