Ronald McDonald is reaching out to kids online
In a nation where kidtargeted fastfood spots have been panned as a cause of childhood obesity, there has been much media speculation that the world's most famous spokesclown was disappearing from McDonald's advertising.
Far from it. Ronald McDonald never did get axed. And in a halfdozen ads to launch over the next several months, he's a chipper Ronaldinmotion: dancing, playing soccer, shooting hoops and nudging kids to visit his website and download photos and videos Ronaldgrams to share with friends.
"Kids today live in a digital world," says Dean Barrett, McDonald's global marketing officer. north face discount code "You have to speak to kids in a digital language to connect."
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Not everyone's a fan. "Parents are going crazy trying to deal with the Internet and social networking and their kids," says advertising and clinical psychologist Carol Moog. "Why would I want my kid to do this?"
But Paul Kurnit, founder of the KidShop consulting firm, says it will be a hit. The the north face store locator No. 1 activity that kids do online is interact with TV properties from their offline life, he says. "Online is where the world is going."
In one commercial that kicks off April 6 on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, a chatty Ronald greets folks on the street and poses with them for photos in an empty picture frame that he's carrying. "Ask parents permission."
One watchdog group says Ronald McDonald is going too far with this campaign.
"I think it's interesting that the commercials remind kids to ask their parents for permission before going to play with Ronald on the Internet," says Deborah Lapidus, campaign director of Corporate Accountability International. "If McDonald's really stands behind its contention that this is an issue of 'parental choice,' then why is it marketing directly to kids and not parents?"
But Ronald is more than a spokesman, says Marlena PeleoLazar, global chief creative officer. "Ronald's job is to promote joy, fun and the spontaneity of the brand. He never does a hard sell."