My Dad traveled constantly when I was little. Mum worked through her loneliness with enormous projects like wallpapering every room in the house and repairing antiques and refinishing furniture and maintaining the most beautiful garden in our neighborhood. The woman could do anything and she did everything.
The thing is, she would work until she lost track of time and collapsed in an exhausted heap. For us, this meant she skipped dinner and fed us McDonald’s at least twice a week, sometimes even four or five times! As a kid, this was Heaven.
I loved everything about McDonalds. I loved the ads with Mayor McCheese, Big Mac the cop and the Hamburglar. I loved the jingles: Mc Donald’s is your kind of place/ It’s such a happy place…. or as we kids sang it: McDonalds is your kind of place/Hamburgers in your face/ French fries beteween your toes/Green pickles up your nose…
I faithfully memorized the ingredient list for a Big Mac and ran every time the phone rang in hopes it was the contest man calling to give me a prize for reciting it in under 30 seconds. Two all beef patties,special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun!
I loved the the promotional gifts. The Happy Meal with a toy did not start until ‘79, but we had much better goodies than those back in the day. We had painted drinking glasses full of lead, viewmaster reels of national parks and of course Ronald McDonald adventures, and dolls stuffed with sawdust that leaked everywhere with the slightest hug.
For me, it was never about the food. I’d scrape the nasty mustard and onions off my hamburger and toss most of the cardboard flavored bun away. I’d scoff down my fries and my orange milkshake- yes! back then they had Orange flavored shakes!-but I would never have asked for McDonalds if they did not have the coolest kid friendly marketing strategy ever.
Every so often today I will still get a hankering for an All American Meal: small hamburger, small fries and a soda. It’s 500 calories and more grease than Johnny Depp’s hair, but it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and just plain happy. According to some experts that is a big problem.
In Brazil, there is a movement afoot to ban Happy Meal toys from children’s fast food. A Sao Paolo Federal Prosecutor contends that the “abusive creation of emotional associations”, effectively brainwash children into becoming life long eaters of high fat, non-nutritious food that is linked to diabetes and other health concerns. I have to say from my own experience, there is something to that.
What say you? Do you think that aggresive marketing directly to children is unaceptable, or are Brazilian authorities all wet? Have Happy Meal toys run their course or are they an innocuous and pleasant part of everyday life? Should parents have to battle fast food chains for influence over their children’s eating habits? Should fast food chains be penalized because individuals make bad eating choices? Chime in and let me know what you think. I’m very interestred in reading your responses.
7 responses so far ↓
1
witchypoo
// Jun 21, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I used to take my younger son to MacDonald’s until one day when he was 11, I finally asked him if he was still thrilled with the happy meal toys. No, he wasn’t. What about the food? Did he actually enjoy it? No, he didn’t. I took him to my favourite place for a gourmet burger, and we haven’t been to MacDonald’s since.
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2
Lola
// Jun 21, 2009 at 8:12 pm
The aggresive marketing directed at children is unaceptable, however, I think what the Brazilian government wants to do is a little extreme.
With how much it costs at fast food places like McDonalds, you can get a better meal at a family restaurant. Whether it would be healthier, is debatable, but it definitely tastes better.
Fast food restaurants should have to prominently disclose the nutritional information on all their menu items. Consumers can make up their own minds about what to order. It’s not like it’s going to stop people from going to fast food joints altogether.
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3
Pinkpeaks
// Jun 21, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I grew up in the country, so I didn’t eat at McDonald’s until 5th grade (when we moved to a sorta city). It was all about the fries for me. I was too old for Happy Meals, and I don’t remember ever getting any promo item. We didn’t eat there often.
I do know that what happens in childhood has a tremendous influence on the rest of your life, so I would have to agree that it’s time for marketers of all ilk to let up on the kids.
Maybe Brazil has the right idea. If SpongeBob and Dora and the Disney characters were extolling the virtues of broccoli and cauliflower, every kid would be clamoring for those “green trees” and “brains.”
Of course, that means the parents would have to know what “vegetables” are and know how to prepare them. And that would be a miracle!
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4
Leslie
// Jun 22, 2009 at 8:11 am
another case of where no one wants to take responsibility for what they or their child eats/watches/etc. They want to blame it on the corporations. Sure corporations are in it to make money, but aren’t they all?! That is how they are able to employ people and keep the economy going.
no eating at McDonald’s isn’t the healthiest but as a treat (if one likes their food) then it is ok. I’d rather go to a better quality restaurant for a hamburger than McD’s…but there is something about their french fries!
5
Stacy
// Jun 22, 2009 at 4:19 pm
As a parent, I think direct marketing to kids stinks. As a parent, I also feel free to tell my kids “no” to a kids’ meal and buy them regular menu items when we are at a fast food place. Sure, they’re exasperated with me sometimes. I’m okay with that.
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6
Green Girl in Wisconsin
// Jun 29, 2009 at 7:50 am
I still have Return of the Jedi glasses…I didn’t mind it when you had to pay a little more for something useful like a glass or mug. But “free” toys–which you can opt to refuse and save .70 on your Happy Meal cost, BTW–are rather unhealthy.
I just despise the conditioning that my children have experienced: they must be rewarded with a treat everywhere we go. I think not!
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7
Kimberly
// Jul 16, 2009 at 9:59 am
I am torn. I loved Mcd’s as a kid too (remember their seat belt campaign?) but also think that’s why I still crave it today. I know that my kids and I would all be better without the food and the toys…but is it evil?…there are worse things.
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