It’s easy to pick on McDonalds, so when tempted, I try to do so with a grain of salt. Still, for a company who is doing the right thing in so many places, it’s rather ironic to see them giving away toy Hummers in happy meals. It’s not quite as bad as giving away, say, cigarettes, but it definitely sends an odd message from a company that claims publicly to have environmental and social interests at their heart.
Although a toy Hummer might not *really* be such a big deal, finding one in your happy meal just adds weight to he Hummer’s inescapable symbolism in a way that’s almost cliche. Sending a message of gluttony to kids just ain’t right. I’m guessing GM shelled out a lot of cash for this, which puts some shame on them as well, but sheesh, I’m surprised McDonalds went ahead with this program knowing the glaring target it makes them. See Ronald McHummer for more.
McDonalds Offering Toy Hummers With Happy Meals
By Nick Aster | August 15th, 2006 
3 Comments
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Comments
August 17, 2006 at 13:54 pm PDT | marcos writes:
You’re kidding me? You think McDonalds is doing the right thing in so many places? Maybe they’re green washing in so many places. McDonalds will never be sustainable. The very nature of their business is to profit off of over feeding its costumers low quality food. They destroy public health, small family farms, the Amazon and anything else they get their hands on. Don’t be a BoBo, McDonalds is not doing the right thing.
August 18, 2006 at 17:11 pm PDT | JasonTromm writes:
This whole anti-McHummer thing is much ado about nothing. The car in my son’s Happy Meal today is not going to influence his car buying decisions 20 years from now. If you bothered to talk to an actual child, you might have learned that the toy hummer doesn’t burn any gas at all. It’s just a toy … car.
August 22, 2006 at 14:17 pm PDT | jdw writes:
if putting that hummer in happy meals didn’t sell hummers, GM wouldn’t do it.