THE WEEK – More than 600 doctors and health professionals have sent a message to McDonald’s in full-page newspaper ads:
It’s time to dump Ronald McDonald, the fast food chain’s mascot for 48 years.
The anti-Ronald campaign is part of a push to get McDonald’s to stop marketing its high-calorie food to kids. McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner is fighting back: Ronald “is an ambassador for good,” and he “isn’t going anywhere.”
Childhood obesity has more than tripled during Ronald’s tenure, and one in three kids is now fat or obese.
And a 2010 study found that “branding food products with cartoon characters clearly influences young children’s taste preferences, easily luring them to eat junk food.”
“McDonald’s CEO to food police: Hands off Ronald McDonald”