Skinny Shrek will use immense power of media to de-fat children
May 9, 2007 Humor, Musings, News No Comments
CNN.com is reporting that McDonald’s will be featuring a slimmed-down version of Shrek in their upcoming Happy Meal promotion timed to coincide with the movie’s imminent release:
“But unlike previous movie tie-ins, McDonald’s will use Shrek to feature its salads, milk, apple slices and other products introduced in the last three years as the No. 1 restaurant company faced mounting criticism its food was not only unhealthy but also contributing to the increase in overweight kids in the United States.
While most of the featured products have been on McDonald’s menu for more than a year, Chief Marketing Officer Mary Dillon said the company still had “opportunities to drive awareness both with parents and kids about these offerings.”
McDonald’s will also use Shrek to promote physical activity through games on its Web sites that require both online and offline play, Dillon said.
The company would not disclose how many Happy Meals it sells with apple slices versus those with french fries.”
Source: cnn.com
Aside from the sketchy final sentence here, which implies that McDonald’s probably sells 1 apple slice for every 4.7 billion fries, there’s good that could come from this. After all, if this media blitz of a skinnier Shrek doesn’t drop the average weight of the American schoolchild by at least a couple of pounds, it proves that the things kids see on TV, in the theater, and play on McDonald’s video-game website don’t actually affect their behavior. And you know what that means, Ted Stevens…