Week 4 EOC: McDonald's Response to Super Size Me

How did McDonald’s react to Super- Size Me?

Well, many of us have seen the documentary “Super Size Me” were a man does an experiment of his own based on the unhealthy McDonald’s menu. He wanted to prove how unhealthy and harmful the food is that McDonalds is advertising and producing. After this documentary aired McDonald’s started to get many complaints, so they eventually got rid of size “Super-Size.” McDonald’s stated “The reason for reducing the number of fry sizes is to simplify operations and enhance our ability to deliver better service to our guests,” the memo said, adding that the 7-ounce carton “will be eliminated as part of our healthy lifestyle initiative.” So now instead of a 7-ounce of fries you will only get a 6-ounce of fries. They started selling salads, fruit, vegetables, and yogurt. They have also make the portion of the fries in the Happy Meals a lot smaller and added a pack of sliced apples for a healthier choice, you could even opt for milk instead of soda. Another way that McDonald’s protected its brand was by filming their own documentary called “Salad Without Dressing Me,” which “presents the corporate giant as a business that offers a healthy yet delicious menu to its customers, treats patrons with respect, and is ahead of the time.” McDonald’s has said that this document has nothing to do with them trying to protect themselves from all of the criticism that has recently been said about them. Although they say that this documentary isn’t a response, it sure seems that way. Instead of eating Big Macs and fries for a whole month it shows a person eating McDonalds salads for a month and losing weight. "This just goes to show," said new CEO Charlie Bell, "that a person can eat at McDonald's for as long as they want and, as long as they live an otherwise healthy lifestyle, can lose weight in the process."

What do you think about it?

“When filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heard about a lawsuit that two overweight New York teenagers had brought against McDonald's, blaming the restaurant for their condition, he decided to conduct an experiment.” When I watched the movie “Super-Size Me” and heard about the two lawsuits against McDonald’s I had mixed feelings. McDonald’s is unhealthy and it’s pretty obvious. Although McDonald’s is promoting unhealthy food it is ultimately your choice to eat it. So I don’t think that they should have gotten as much criticism as they did.

Citations:

McDonalds’ phasing out Supersize fries, drinks. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/4433307/ns/business-us_business/t/mcdonalds-phasing-out-supersize-fries-drinks/#.UfmY-b_y-zY

McDonald’s Counters Controversial ‘Super Size Me’ Documentary with In-House ‘Salad Without Dressing Me.’ Retrieved from http://www.enduringvision.com/news/business_010404.php

From 2004: ‘Super Size Me.’ Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500183_162-615975.html