Cigarettes is slightly different in terms of overall dangers, and it's a lo harder to justify ads that seem to focus on the very young in that case. I'm divided on the Joe Camel thing, but I do feel we go too far if we think companies can't use toys or cutesy characters to hawk their wares. To me, that's a bit like the parents who say they can't stop their kids from watching certain TV programs.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@yahoo.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, May 21, 2010 7:17:06 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire I felt the same way when the government forced R J Reynolds to retire Joe Camel. I was wrong. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote: > > My feeling is that we go too far in blaming advertising and marketing for our > children's bad habits. Yes, absolutely, McDonald's caters to kids with food > that's not healthy if eaten too much. So do the companies behind Twinkies, > Snickers, Kool-Aid, Chuck E. Cheese, and countless others. And it makes kids > want to eat that stuff. But guess what? Kids eat what their parents tell them > to eat! Unless and until ten-year-olds are driving themselves to Mickey D's > and gorging on burgers and fries, it's on the parents as to what they eat. > Yeah I know: couples work nowadays. It's more rare for there to be a mom > staying at home all day cooking healthy three squares from scratch. Fast food > is convenient in this new world. But it's still incumbent on parents to say > "no". When i was a kid, we had nowhere as many fast food joints as we do > today. But frankly, the ones we had in Texas were way better: Dairy Queen was > better, there's a great chain called Whataburger out there that's good, and > the state was lousy with fantastic mom-and-pop chains that make the best > greasy burgers and shakes you'll ever have. And if I'd had my way, I'd have > eaten that stuff every day. What did my parents say? "No!" I got such food as > a treat, usually when we took road trips to Houston. Or I got fried chicken > for Sunday dinner. Other than that, if they didn't want me to eat too many > candy bars, cinnamon rolls, cokes, etc., they simply didn't buy it. > While freely acknowledging the ever-increasing lure of sophisticated > advertising, i just have to shake my head at the thought that parents are > helpless to do anything about it when it comes to what their kids eat. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@...> > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 7:12:48 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [scifinoir2] McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire > > > > > > > McDonald's says no way Ronald will retire > > By ASHLEY M. HEHER (AP) â€" 5 hours ago > > CHICAGO â€" Retire Ronald McDonald? No way. > > That's the message McDonald's Corp.'s CEO Jim Skinner gave Thursday to the > red-haired clown's critics who say the cartoon promotes unhealthy eating and > should go the way of the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel. > > "The answer is no," Skinner told a room full of shareholders who gathered for > a meeting at the company's headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, > Ill. > > "He is a force for good," Skinner said, adding that the nearly 50-year-old > clown is an ambassador for the McDonald's brand and its Ronald McDonald House > Charities. "He communicates effectively with children and families around > balanced, active lifestyles. He does not hawk food." > > Shareholders applauded Skinner. And they unleashed a chorus of boos when > representatives from the advocacy group Corporate Accountability > International requested the famous icon be shelved â€" for good. > > "Ronald McDonald is a pied piper drawing youngsters all over the world to > food that is high in fat, sodium and calories," said Alfred David Klinger, a > retired Chicago physician who volunteers with the organization. "On the > surface, Ronald is there to give children enjoyment in all sorts of way with > toys, games and food. But Ronald McDonald is dangerous, sending insidious > messages to young people." > > The Boston organization, which calls itself a nonprofit corporate watchdog, > has spent the past two months mounting a "Retire Ronald" campaign. > > So far it has received support from about 10,000 people, said senior > organizer Deborah Lapidus. > > -- > Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! > Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ >
