Ronald McDonald deserves a break

To borrow from an old McDonald's slogan -- Ronald McDonald deserves a break.

There's a move afloat to force the fast-food giant to retire its spokesclown.  Groups led by the Marin Institute are targeting the clown, claiming he exerts too much influence on children and he's hindering the fight against childhood obesity.

I think Marin is way off-base.  Although it's been quite a while, I know Ronald and his parent company McDonald's Corp. personally.  Before I started my own agency 20 years ago, I ran the agency account team serving McDonald's here in the tri-state New York area, with nearly 350 stores at the time.

Yes, Ronald sold Happy Meals, but he also taught kids about fire safety, exercise, nutrition, literacy and more.  There's a lot more to Ronald than big feet and Happy Meals.

In the New York market alone, we had five actors who played Ronald, for store and school and community appearances, where he'd talk to kids about a variety of safety and health issues.  I never heard Ronald tell a kid to go get a Happy Meal.

McDonald's takes Ronald very seriously. He's part of a carefully crafted public relations program that puts more emphasis on issues and community relations than on the food the company sells.  Build a good reputation and people will come to the stores -- not only for Big Macs, but for salads too. 

Build a good reputation and people will stick by you when there's a problem, whether it's a shooting in a store or a food-related problem.

So let's give Ronald a break.  While he's talking to kids about nutrition and safety issues, parents should be using restraint in what they let their kids eat.  The national childhood obesity problem can't all be blamed on a clown.

Comments

[Carmen Li]

David, have you seen this new Ronald image in Asia? What do you think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVcRecCk8sw&feature=fvw

[David Reich]

Hi Carmen...
I took a look and, to borrow a phrase, I'm lovin' it. It's a beautifully-done spot and I love the way they borrow from the look of their Ronald McDonald icon to make both a fashion statement and a product statement. The ad is fun to watch.

I also found a similar ad from the same campaign that shows a young man in Ronald colors and bright red hair.

So, what do you think about it?

[David Reich]

I just found the actual ad, which has different music. What Carmen posted above is from the ad agency that made the ad, and they put different (better, I think) music to it.

But I still like it, even with the more "ordinary" music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKLncvGxQ8&feature=related

[Carmen Li]

David,

Thank you! I think the whole set of McDonald ads in Japan is very interesting, using slim, healthy and beautiful looking models to associate the "health" factor, to attract young professionals and to up-scale the brand a bit. I guess it's easier to evolve in Asia when they don't carry the burden of brand perception as much as we do in the west.

Carmen

[David Reich]

McDonald's CEO says at annual meeting it has no plans to retire Ronald.

http://www.chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/05/mcdonalds-says-no-way-ronald-will-retire.html