McDonald's targeted in US health ad

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

It is an image to sap the flabbiest of appetites. An overweight, middle-aged man lies dead on a mortuary trolley, with a woman weeping over his body. The corpse's cold hand still clutches a half-eaten McDonald's hamburger.

A hard-hitting US television commercial bankrolled by a Washington-based medical group has infuriated McDonald's by taking an unusually direct shot at the world's biggest fast-food chain this week, using a scene filmed in a mortuary followed by a shot of the brand's golden arches logo and a strapline declaring: "I was lovin' it."

The line is a provocative twist on McDonald's long-standing advertising slogan, "I'm lovin' it" and a voiceover intones: "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian."

The commercial, bankrolled by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), goes further than most non-profit advertising and has drawn an angry reaction from both the Chicago-based hamburger multinational and the broader restaurant industry.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/14/us-health-ad-targets-mcdonalds

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Watch the ad either embedded on the Guardian story or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUxIXQza-dM

[RKP5637]

1. Good, serves them F'en right. Still many don't get what gross SH** they peddle. n/t

[SomeGuynTexas]

2. Amen. Let the homeless go back to garbage can diving....

I mean, those f'ing dollar menu's are just plain killing those homeless folks.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-06/bay-area/23990829_1_dollar-menu-mcdouble-menu-change">SFGATE: Hassle in Haight over McDonald's menu change

The nerve of that company!

[thetonka]

3. I like the idea of our government promoting better eating habits, but

I do NOT like the idea of our government promoting a specific eating habit like vegetarianism. This is like promoting a religion.

Fine to educate about things that are clearly bad for you supported by clear evidence, but going vegetarian is just not clearly an improvement over intelligent and healthy meat eating.

[jerseyjack]

4. It ain't a gub'mint ad

It is promoted by an independent physicians' group. Also, please explain intelligent, healthy meat eating.

[customerserviceguy]

10. That group is in bed with PETA

They'd gladly toss me in jail for years for the dinner I'm cooking up tonight.

And intelligent, healthy meat eating is going for the lean cuts, not slathering them with salty sauces, and serving them on sugar-enhanced buns. But, if you're a vegan/vegetarian, that wouldn't make sense to members of your religion.

[thetonka]

13. This!

Contrary the religious propaganda meat in general is NOT bad for you. Some meat and some cuts are not good for you and are bad in large quantities, but then so are some fruits and vegetables.

Saying that a meatless diet is the only healthy diet is just as dangerous as saying that a meat only or meat heavy diet is the only healthy diet.

[customerserviceguy]

19. Thank you

And welcome!

[dogfacedboy]

41. Poultry and fish.

The human body requires protein, and not everyone likes beans. I think tofu sucks, no matter how it's dressed up. I eat only poultry and fish as far as meat goes, and only 3-4 days per week, twice on each of those days.

[anthroguy101]

5. Some think it's fun to bring that talking point about a certain person that was also a vegetarian...

But with all due seriousness, ANYTHING is better than McDonald's. I may not be a vegetarian, but I do know the damage this company has caused. Anything that can trash this company is worth it.

Also, especially when it comes to what McDonald's has done, that talking point is moot.

[Radical Activist]

6. Ronald McDonald is far more deadly than Osama Bin-Laden.

It's a shame the truth about that fact isn't said more frequently.

[RKP5637]

7. I was just thinking that when I saw your post. Yeah, the psychological twist

they added by integrating Ronald McDonald and the rest of their do-gooder stuff they do to hook children and to force parents to take them there. I know one father that took his little kids there because he was ignorant enough to think they served all wholesome food. I hope he stopped after I explained to him that Ronald McDonald was not an innocent clown, etc., etc.

[slackmaster]

21. The sorded history of actors who have played Ronald McDonald is the stuff of legend in H-wood

The first one was Willard Scott.

King Moody, a long-running Ronald McDonald, was famous for his earlier role as KAOS agent Shtarker on Get Smart, and several other sitcom roles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_McDonald

[HockeyMom]

8. I had my Big Mac today since 6 months ago

I usually eat salads and yougurt for lunch, but today I gave in my cravings and ate at McD's. I am 62 years old, 5'2" inches, 102 lbs, and a size 1. I also have a very physical job and probably burn off whatever I eat very quickly, in addition to MY normal metabolism. My entire family going back several generations has been very small and thin.

I will IGNORE these ads. If I want a Big Mac or Hot Fudge Sundae ONCE every couple of months, I am not going to be scared by these stupid warnings.

[Blacksheep214]

9. I think you missed it.

The point, that is!

I weighed 265 and developed type 2 diabetes. I quit eating McFood and slowly am down to 200.

Anything in moderation is fine, but have you walked around WalMarts McDonalds and looked at the customers? I bet you don't see yourself.

[HockeyMom]

18. You have to know your own body

If I listened to what the "experts" said, I would weight 85 lbs and be in the hospital with severe anemia and malnourished. As I said I am 62 years old. Been there, done that in my 20s. Yes, I WAS hospitalized following their "guidelines".

Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day? I don't eat 5 servings of ANYTHING a day. You see they try to make it one size fits all. Well, after living over half a century, I have found that that is NOT true.

Tune in to your OWN body. Know what YOU can and cannot eat. We are NOT one size fits all.

[shanti]

39. 5 servings

seems a lot, but you'd be surprised how small a serving size really is.

[mainer]

48. That's the problem with these all-or-nothing pronouncements

I've got a BMI of 18, which is considered practically underweight, yet I love hamburgers and fries and indulge in them when the urge strikes me. My 86 year old mom loves french fries, and she weighs 90 pounds. All this stuff about "evil fast food" seems to ignore the fact that we do have control over what we put in our own mouths, and it's up to us to limit ourselves. I will not stand for health food nuts telling me I can't eat what I want. And I can probably outrun them anyway.

[totodeinhere]

11. Yes, eating at McDonald's occasionally isn't going to hurt you.

A Big Mac and a Diet Coke once a month is fine. People who eat there several times a week on the other hand need to get a life.

[Blacksheep214]

12. A life or a wife?

Either would be better.

[thetonka]

15. Unfortunately

Our government still subsidizes the processed food industry and food stocks that feed that industry. It is cheaper for a family to eat at McDonald's than it is to eat real food.

Showing a dead person with a big mac just isn't going to have any impact on this part of society. Eliminating the subsidies and protections and moving that money towards helping people eat healthy, and helping those who need the help to afford to eat healthy would be a much better way of spending the time and money.

I can't help but wonder how many families could have been given a health diet with the money spent on this ad.

[totodeinhere]

16. Yes, I understand. In many minority and poor neighborhoods it is hard to find fresh

fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods. And many residents don't have the wherewithal to go out to the suburbs to do their shopping. Yet it's easy to buy booze, chips and fast food. That has got to change. I was referring more to fat people who live in rich neighborhoods who could afford to eat a healthy diet if they wanted to.

[mainer]

17. McDonalds may be the only way they'll get salad

There ARE healthy options at McDonald's if you really want them.

[LostinVA]

33. The salad is worse than the Big Mac

For real.

[jmowreader]

52. If you eat the fried chicken version, it is

Does anyone know the stats on the grilled chicken salads? That's what I get, and they're better (at least in taste) than chopping up FRIED chicken (complete with the batter) and throwing it all over lettuce.

[HuckleB]

24. In the Portland area, it's the other way around.

The suburbanites have to come into the city to get the good food.

[totodeinhere]

27. That goes against the conventional wisdom that I have seen, but since you are there and I'm not

of course I'll take your word for it.

[HuckleB]

29. Portland is a leader, but many more cities are following.

Not many in the south, where structures were built later, and appear to be much more temporary.

[LostinVA]

34. I think it's like that in many, many cities

It's like that here, too.

[HuckleB]

23. I don't buy that.

I can make a heckuva dinner for our little family of three, and it will cost less than half what it would cost to go to McDonald's. Further, many mom and pop shops around town offer healthier food for maybe 10 - 15 percent more than McDonald's, and sometimes less.

[LostinVA]

35. You are 100% correct, but people on here will say you are wrong

Flamewar after flamewar about this very topic.

As long as you have a hotplate and a small fridge, you can make healthy food for much less than any processed food, either fast food or boxed prepared food. So many people just don't want to take 10 to 20 minutes cooking.

Just look at breakfast: oatmeal is cheap, PB and bread is cheap.

[thetonka]

46. Not in all places in this country

Not everyone has access to good affordable(cheap) raw food ingredients. I can get really good fresh food from local farmers at a nearby farmers market where I live, but my coworkers in San Diego have said the prices at the few farmers markets near them are significantly higher, and the selection is nowhere near as good.

It all depends on where you live, and in the poor neighborhoods I have spent time in in Orange, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties there are few if any farmers markets or stores that have good affordable fresh food. It's really easy to get cheap fast food and cheap processed food like garbage at the stores that are there though.

[HuckleB]

50. It doesn't have to be a farmer's market.

And I know some poor areas are underserved by grocery chains, but McDonald's is not cheap.

[HuckleB]

22. Indeed.

Although, I can't stand McDonald's, I will stop by Burgerville, Carl's Jr., DQ and even Burger King now and then, usually after I've put in 20 or 30 miles on cross-country skis or 10 to 15 miles on a hiking trail. I figure my body can handle the salt and the fat at that point.

[customerserviceguy]

26. Ah, Burgerville!

I go about once or twice every visit to the Pacific NW. Local food, prepared in a nutritious way, by workers who are treated responsibly by their employer. The Walla Walla onion rings are a special delight!

[HuckleB]

28. That they are... uh, the onion rings, that is. The other things are good, too!

[customerserviceguy]

31. Don't forget the real strawberry shakes and the sweet potato fries

Can't wait for my next visit this Thanksgiving!

[dogfacedboy]

42. Ate sweet potato fries for the first time 10 years ago, and I've never looked back! Awesome!

[mainer]

14. Far more likely he'd be clutching a pack of cigarettes

Taking into account the causes of cardiovascular disease, tobacco would be far, far higher up the list of culprits than McDonald's. I don't see why they chose to focus on the golden arches.

[HuckleB]

25. Yes, but there are plenty of anti-smoking campaigns.

McDonald's is the biggest of the fast food monoliths, so it represents the cliche. Thus, it makes sense that they would use the big M.

[Abq_Sarah]

30. Or a big bowl of pasta

[LostinVA]

36. Why? Pasta isn't bad for you at all

Unless you eat huge plates of it doused in Alfredo sauce (ick).

[mainer]

37. Hamburgers aren't bad for you either

Unless you eat them every day.

[LostinVA]

45. Did I say occasional burgers were bad for you?

I replied to the poster saying pasta is bad for you.

The "Mediterranean Diet" has been deemed the healthiest diet. It has a good amount of pasta in it. I have dropped 20 lbs., and I ear pasta several times a week.

[dogfacedboy]

43. Loaded with carbs. Just like white bread.

[LostinVA]

44. There is nothing at all wrong with pasta -- or carbs, for that matter

White bread isn't bread, but there is nothing wrong with actual bread, either.

[Abq_Sarah]

47. I'll take the alfredo sauce

Over the pasta. One cup of cooked pasta (and how many people eat only one cup?) has just slightly less carbohydrates than a can of coke. By the time it hits your gut, it's sugar.

[crim son]

20. I have mixed feelings about this.

People will defend their right to eat garbage, to smoke, to drive without a seatbelt etc. and they have that right. Unfortunately when they run into trouble they are not usually the ones to shoulder the cost of their irresponsibility. In a country where we are looking at over 50% of the population being overweight or obese, the cost becomes huge and the issue worth debating. I've heard the claim that it's cheaper to eat fast food than homemade but that just isn't true. Even if I chose to eat a burger and fries, if I made them at home it wouldn't cost me six bucks for the meal as it does at MickeyD's or other fast food joints. Yes it is expensive to eat well but again, it is less expensive to eat badly at home than badly at a restaurant. And for most it is in fact a choice. Time may be short but there are ways to get a meal prepared for the family and still work a forty-hour or more week. I know, I've done it before and am suddenly doing it again.

Eh, I think you get my point, and I know many will take issue with my perspective. Frankly if there was a single-payer system in place I wouldn't feel as strongly about the question as I do, but I lost my insurance when I divorced and have suddenly become painfully aware that what I pay for services and treatments is utterly ridiculous, in part because I am paying my share of everybody else's problems, and I can't afford it. Most of us cannot comfortably afford it and so if it takes a powerful public service announcement to raise awareness and affect change in our collective behavior, I can't object. Hey, it worked with the fur industry. Maybe it will work in the food industry.

[bitchkitty]

32. Beef processed with ammonia...

I haven't eaten a fast food burger since I watched Food, Inc.

[mainer]

38. I will say one good thing about McDonald's

It revolutionized slaughtering practices of the beef industry, forcing more humane methods.

[dogfacedboy]

40. One dollar double cheeseburgers are a helluva drug...

[totodeinhere]

49. McDonalds management will tell you that they do not intend for their customers to eat there every

day. They promote occasional meals at McDonalds as a part of a varied diet. And as someone else already pointed out, they also carry salads.

[flvegan]

51. This ad? I'm lovin it!!!

[jmowreader]

53. PCRM? More like PCVL

which is Physicians Committee for Vegetarian Living.

I tried watching "Super Size Me" but ya know, when you KNOW the whole premise is fucked, you tend to tune it out. Everyone who would actually watch that movie knows eating McDonald's three times a day, every day, is going to fuck you up.