Fast-food giant McDonald's has hit back at claims from Children’s health advocacy group, The Parents’ Jury, that its latest promotion encourages kids to eat 23 Happy Meals in eight weeks.
The advocacy group has companied to the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) about Macca's Happy Readers promotion, which gives children free books with the purchase of a Happy Meal.
There are 10 hard copy books and 16 digital readers to collect in the series, a corresponding app is preloaded with three free titles, but to access other titles in the series, users have to input a unique code that can be bought for two dollars a pop or by purchasing a McDonald’s Happy Meal.
Parents are particularly concerned about the digital element of the promotion, centred on an app called Happy Readers, Alice Pryor, campaigns manager for The Parents’ Jury, said: “This app is clearly designed to appeal to, and be easily operated by, young children. What worries parents is the fact that the in-app bookstore and the Happy Meal box clearly display the titles that the child has yet to collect. To collect all 10 books and 16 digital readers, children would need to consume 23 Happy Meals in an 8 week period. That’s a lot of fast food in just two months and is certainly not recommended for healthy eating.”
Macca's has hit back at the claims with a spokesperson saying: “To say parents are likely to take their kids to McDonald’s 23 times in 8 weeks is just ridiculous. In fact we know that parents take their children to eat at McDonald’s only 1 – 2 times a month. Like all of our Happy Meal toys, the books are also available for purchase for $2 for parents who would like to buy them independently of a Happy Meal.
“We advertise Happy Meals with apple slices and low fat milk or water in compliance with nutrition criteria set by external dietitians.”
Mum of two from Melbourne, Cheryl McLeod, also weighed in about the promotion: “I hate the connotation that children can be “Happy Readers” while eating unhealthy food. This app is exploiting the fact that most parents will encourage reading and are happy to see children excited about collecting new titles. Children’s brains need nutritious food to develop properly and provide the concentration needed to read books, not the regular consumption of fast food that collecting this series of digital books encourages.”
McDonald’s has previously come under fire from the ASB for its marketing. Complaints have previously been made over a voucher handed out to recipients of McDonald's Team Spirit Awards at the University of Sunshine Coast Basketball Club, who were playing in under 10 and under 8 competitions.
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