Group ‘concerned’ about corporate abuse to ask Ronald McDonald to retire

For the cheeeldren, of course:

NEW YORK Ronald McDonald is having a midlife crisis.

His floppy shoes, painted-on smile and flaming-red hair may be a harder sell to today’s kids who are trading in their dolls and trucks for manicures and mobile game apps at ever-younger ages. He also seems out of step with McDonald’s Corp.’s new efforts to appeal to adults. The 48-year-old spokesclown has fallen flat in new ads this year, according to Ace Metrix, a group that tracks TV advertising.

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A group called Corporate Accountability International plans to ask Ronald to retire at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday. It says Ronald encourages kids to eat junk food, contributing to a rise in childhood obesity and related diseases such as diabetes.

The group, which campaigned against the Joe Camel cigarette mascot in the ’90s and complained about Ronald as a role model at McDonald’s annual meeting last year, has stepped up its campaign. The group has taken out full-page ads today in the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Metro and four other papers to call for his head. The ads, signed by more than 550 health groups and professionals, carry the headline, “Doctors’ Orders: Stop Marketing Junk Food To Kids.”

And I’m thinking about taking out some full page ads myself, which carry the headline: “Toldjah’s Orders: Stop Taking Nutritional Decisions out of the Hands of Parents.”   Or, simply: β€œGet a Life.”

Anyone else with me?

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