Misogynist Happy Meals

Press release from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood:

CCFC to McDonald’s:  Stop Selling Sex with a Side of Fries (or Apple Dippers)

BOSTON — The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is demanding that McDonald’s immediately end its highly sexualized My Scene Barbie Happy Meal promotion featuring ludicrously proportioned Barbies with micro miniskirts, halter tops, and rollerblades.

“It’s bad enough that McDonald’s continues to use toys to sell kids on junk food,� said CCFC’s director, Dr. Susan Linn, a psychologist at Judge Baker Children’s Center.  “But to lure young girls to its restaurants by promoting the worst sexualized stereotypes is reprehensible.�  

The McDonald’s Barbie promotion runs through October 28, 2007.  McDonald’s is giving away four scantily clad Barbies and four sets of Barbie bracelets during the four-week promotion.

“It’s ironic that McDonald’s is using an impossibly thin doll as an incentive for girls to visit their restaurants twice-a-week,� said Dr. Linn.  A McDonald’s Happy Meal contains as many as 710 calories and 28 grams of fat. 

In response to concerns about childhood obesity, McDonald’s has moved to position itself as a socially responsible marketer.  In June, as part of the food industry’s efforts to ward off regulation, the fast food giant pledged to change its marketing practices and to produce advertising that includes “healthy lifestyle messages� for children. 

“Putting rollerblades on Barbie doesn’t make it healthy messaging,â€? said CCFC’s Dr. Diane Levin, professor of education at Wheelock College and co-author of the forthcoming, So Sexy So Soon.  “These dolls send a host of harmful messages about play, appearance, sexuality and what it means to be a young girl.”

In an effort to reposition itself as a family-friendly company, McDonald’s has enlisted a Global Moms Panel to “provide input and guidance on a broad range of topics,� including “restaurant communications and children’s well-being.�

 “Parents all over the world are concerned about the sexualization of little girls,â€? said Dr. Linn.  “We hope that the Global Mom’s Panel will consider the well-being of their daughters, and other people’s daughters, by joining us in urging McDonald’s to end its exploitative Barbie promotion.”

Ok, I confess, I’d never heard of the “Global Mom’s Panel”, Turns out  it’s a group of 9 Moms from around the world that advise Mickey D’s on “a broad range of topics to help the company better serve the needs of moms and families both inside and outside its restaurants worldwide.” The panel includes:

• U.S. Olympic speedskater Bonnie Blair
• Italian Olympic cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo
• Christa Kinshofer, an Olympic skier and author from Germany
• Gao Min, an Olympic diving champion and author from China
• Keddie Bailey, a full-time mother from England
• Michele Borba, a childhood development expert and author
• Maru Botana, a chef and TV cooking-show personality from Argentina
• Laura Lopez Cano, a Latina artist
• Kim Carter, a librarian and Parent Teacher Association president

As All This Chittah Chattah points out,

“McDonald’s should realize that “soccer manâ€? doesn’t refer to soccer stars!

McDonald’s is being disingenuous by corralling a high-powered bunch of global supermoms and then claiming they are going to stay in touch with the needs of their real-people customers. One is PR/lobbying/advocacy, and the other is about reaching out to real ordinary people.”

Turns out Burger King has one of these psuedo-good doobie groups too.  Just a little fantasy, but imagine if there was a real Global Mom’s Panel  that told these predatory corporations where to go…