McDonald’s is now facing its second attack in several months from those who are unhappy with the “Happy Meals” that are heavily marketed to and popular with young children. Several months ago, San Francisco became the first US city to ban toys in children’s meals that contain more than 600 calories. This was done in an effort to address concerns about marketing unhealthy food to children.
Lawsuit Against McDonald’s
Now, a California mom named Monet Parham is partnering with The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI) in what she hopes will become a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s for marketing the Happy Meals to kids.
Her argument has two parts. The first argument is that heavy promotion of the Shrek toy set got “into her kid’s head without her permission,” (Scott, 2010) and essentially promoted the child’s obsession with the toys, which caused her to spend money there. While many people may argue that it is the parent’s responsibility to say “no” to children’s requests that they find unreasonable, that does not change the fact that marketers promote and rely on what their industry calls “pester power” to get parents to buy things for kids. Is this ethical?
The second part of Parham’s argument claims that McDonald’s uses marketing techniques on kids who lack the "cognitive skills and the developmental maturity to understand the persuasive intent of marketing and advertising. Thus, McDonald's advertising featuring toys to bait children violates California law because it is inherently deceptive and unfair," according to the suit. (Scott, 2010)
Deceptive Marketing Towards Children
Parham isn’t the first to have a problem with tricky advertising ploys aimed at kids. The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC), fights this battle every day. They have taken on companies like Scholastic, Nickolodeon, Burger King, and others in efforts to pull unhealthy, deceptive, or inappropriate marketing towards youth.
Parents and teachers who are interested in learning more about advertising to children and the resulting impact on body image, violent behavior, sexualization, materialism, and other issues, should be sure to check out the CCFC website for more information about how they can get involved.
It’s unclear at this time how this lawsuit will turn out, but one thing is for sure. If Ms. Parham is successful, her efforts will likely have a huge impact on how products are (or aren’t) marketed to children in the future.
Sources:
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
Mom: “I Want McDonald’s to Stop Interfering in my Family,” Cameron Scott, San Francisco Chronicle, December 16, 2010.
Susan Carney - I have been working as a middle school counselor with 6th and 7th grade students for the past thirteen years. I received a BA in ...
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