News

McDonald’s rejects calls to shift marketing focus

May 19, 2011

At its annual shareholders' meeting Thursday, McDonald's rejected a call from various health organizations and 20,000 petition signees to shift its "predatory" marketing efforts away from kids.

In the meeting's tenth order of business, Tom McCaney, on behalf of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, urged the company and investors to assess its policy in light of fast food links to negative impacts on children's health, including its marketing strategies. He specifically highlighted McDonald's "inconsistency of actions," such as touting its new oatmeal as a health item even though it contains more sugar than a Snickers candy bar.

"It illustrates a disconnect between the impression of a healthy menu item and the actual product," he said.

Debra Lapitus, from Corporate Accountability International, which spearheaded the petition and its delivery a day ahead of the meeting, then asked McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner to "stop with the empty promises and conduct a thorough assessment of the corporation's impact on peoples' health."

Skinner's response garnered a large round of applause from the audience during the Q&A session at the end of the business update.

"This is all really about choice and protecting people's individual rights in this great democratic society we live in," he said. "We will continue to communicate and advertise to our customers responsibly on menu and lifestyle choice and leave the personal responsibility of choosing up to them."

The company was then asked by Dr. Don Zeigler, Director of Prevention & Health Promotion at the American Medical Association, to retire Ronald McDonald.

"Your marketing undermines parents' efforts to encourage healthy eating," Zeigler said.

Skinner responded to continued applause.

"Ronald McDonald is an ambassador for McDonald's and he is an ambassador for good. He is the face of the Ronald McDonald House. He does not advertise unhealthy food to children. McDonald's does not advertising unhealthy food choices to children. It is up to them to choose and their parents to choose. And it's their responsibility to do so," Skinner said. "Ronald McDonald is going nowhere."

A vast majority – 94 percent – of shareholders voted down the proposal that would require McDonald's to shift its marketing efforts.

Read more: Barry Klein, who created the Ronald McDonald, defends the character.