Parents, Kids Rally Near Downers Grove to Retire Ronald McDonald

Submitted by Corporate Accountability International.

Today [Nov. 12] over 70 people including moms, health professionals, community activists and 40 fourth graders gathered at a Downers Grove-area McDonald’s to expose the financial risk and health harms associated with the corporation’s predatory marketing to children.

The rally comes on the heels of yet another dismal earnings report, massive plans to restructure and another misguided PR campaign. Located at a McDonald’s store in Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Peter Bensen’s backyard, the rally is part of a week of action exposing the financial and health consequences of McDonald’s kid-targeted marketing practices. In addition to the rally, organizers placed a full-page advertisement in The Naperville Sun and sent thousands of emails and phone calls to Bensen calling on him to retire Ronald McDonald.

“The corporation’s abysmal performance in the last few quarters should be a wake-up call,” said Value [the] Meal Campaign Director, Sriram Madhusoodanan, “What’s bad for kids’ health is bad for business. It’s time Peter Bensen got the message and retired Ronald.”

In response to its floundering performance, McDonald’s has been quick to do anything but address the root cause of its problems, blaming bad earnings on everything from geo-political tensions to bad weather. Last month, despite all of its attempts to fix its problems through high-level staffing shake-ups, desperate and tone-deaf marketing ploys and a series of unpopular new menu items, McDonald’s announced some of its worst earning results—a 30% drop in earnings and a 3.3% drop in global comparable sales.

Central to the burger giant’s financial woes is its continued substitution of half-measures and marketing for meaningful change. While the increasingly popular fast-casual segment focuses more and more on healthier menu items and its competitors move away from marketing to kids, McDonald’s has doubled down on marketing its unhealthy brand—creating significant financial liability for the corporation and shareholders alike.

“It’s abundantly clear that McDonald’s top execs like CEO Thompson and CFO Bensen do not care about kids’ health,” said Olivia Hernandez, a health educator and Executive Director of Centro Comunitario Juan Diego, based in Chicago’s Southside. “But what they don’t realize is that what’s bad for kids’ health is also bad for their bottom line. If they won’t make a change for my grandchildren, maybe they’ll make it for their bonuses.”

The week of action is the culmination of five years of campaigning with thousands of health professionals and moms to expose McDonald’s role driving an epidemic of diet-related disease and urging an end to its predatory marketing. With its allies, the campaign has compelled changes to Happy Meals and contributed to a significant shift in the corporation’s public image.

The week of action will also include:

• Thousands of emails sent directly to CFO Bensen
• A growing call on Twitter and Facebook for CFO Bensen and McDonald’s to Retire Ronald
• A full-page advertisement in the Naperville Sun echoing this call on behalf of health professionals, parents and faith based organizations from Chicagoland and across the country
• A highly visible protest and rally in front of a McDonald’s location near CFO Bensen’s house (in Darien, IL)
• A community canvass of nearby businesses