I don't know a lot about advertising. What I do know is that people are very susceptible to any suggestion that something might make them happy. In a day and age where nearly every.single.person struggles to lose some weight, be it 5 pounds, 50 pounds, or 150 pounds, is it really necessary for McDonald's to hawk their artery-clogging meals as "A Source of Happiness"? Don't get me wrong, it tastes great. And it's OK for everyone to enjoy an occasional treat. But when you live in a country with an alarmingly high rate of both obesity and clinical depression, do we really need to push people further into both?
I first noticed this slogan on my kids' happy meals bags. Yep, that's right. We eat McDonald's food. But not as a "source of happiness". It didn't bother me too much at first because, well, my kids can't read (at least not big words like happiness). But then I heard it on TV (my kids can hear) and I felt compelled to speak out, even if it's only to my 3 loyal readers. I hate to say it, but we're not going back for awhile. At least until they stop trying to tell people that happiness comes in a vat of oil.
My source of happiness? Half of it is working downtown. The other half is all curled up on our bed watching commercial-free TV.
1 comment:
I am glad that I am not the only person bothered by that type of marketing. I personally abhore the term 'comfort food' . . . why not take a 'comfort run' or a 'comfort swim' instead of overindulging in crappy food as a means for making yourself feel better? I sometimes take a lot of flack from people for not allowing my kids to eat candy or drink juice (except on very, very special ocassions) - coincidently, most of those doing the criticizing are marekedly overweight.
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