Suing McDonald’s Over Toys

June 24, 2010 by theo.johnson
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Entertainment & Sports, Family, Health, Legal, Society & Culture

I’ll be the first to admit that my kids love going to McDonald’s. From a very early age, both of them could identify the logo as we drove down the street and this was amazing because it showed how powerful the McDonald’s brand really was. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has long opposed the deceptive marketing of unhealthy foods to children. That is why they decided to sue McDonald’s if they continue to use toys to market the Happy Meal to young kids.

Now, I’m all for keeping kids healthy, but this is ridiculous. While my boys enjoy getting the toy in their Happy Meal, they usually end up playing with it for less than a day. After that it ends up broken, lost or left in the car (which causes it to be thrown in the trash).

McDonald’s is the king of brand marketing and they should not be blamed for what they do best. It’s up to the parent to decide when, if and how often their child should eat at McDonald’s. And even if the CSPI, sues, wins and gets the toys banned, I doubt consumption of Happy Meals will decrease.

CSPI, please trust the parents to make the best food decision for their children. We know the food is far from healthy and filling up the U.S. Court System with these types of lawsuits is a waste of time.