Last Wednesday, a group of students gathered at a table outside Usdan with a firm goal in mind: to bring down one of the most well-known icons in the world. They were armed with signs, a photo-petition, and a clown. Their target was none other than Ronald McDonald.
“This type of marketing isn’t fair,” explained Susanna Ronalds-Hannon ’10. “Kids of the age McDonald’s is targeting don’t even know what advertising is, and it locks kids into these really dangerous eating patterns.”
This event was just one part of a nationwide protest being conducted by Corporate Accountability International, a watchdog organization whose stated goal is to challenge corporate abuse. Their previous actions include the 1997 campaign to do away with the Camel cigarette company’s mascot, Joe Camel, for reasons similar to the ones motivating their crusade against Ronald. While it’s debatable how many kids actually turned to smoking because of the influence of that infamous camel cartoon character, the fact that McDonald’s is explicitly targeting a young audience with their mascot is what’s getting people up in arms, and they’ve got plenty of evidence to back up their cause.
“According to the [Center for Disease Control] one out of three kids is at risk of type 2 diabetes, which is especially scary because the condition used to only affect adults,” Ronalds-Hannon said. “Also, I read about this one woman who had left this happy meal just sitting out for a year, and when she opened it again, the food was completely intact.”
The protest also featured “a McCircus in three acts,” performed by an as-yet-unnamed street theater troupe comprised entirely of Wesleyan students, featuring actors playing the characters of Big Pharm, Agribusiness, Baby, and Ronald on stilts, played by Mica Taliaferro ’11, a friend of Ronalds-Hannon. Reaction to the protest was mixed.
“It is wrong to target kids like that, to try and get them to eat fast food, but I personally love McDonald’s, and I don’t go because of the clown,” said David Shimomura ’13. “I mean, to me he seems like a child-molesting fiend.”
Shimomura isn’t alone in his sentiments. Others also signed the petition because of a deep-seated aversion to clowns.
“I’m probably going to end up signing the petition just because clowns freak me out,” said Lane Harris ’13.
According to a statement released by McDonald’s to CNN, Ronald is a role model who advocates for important issues such as literacy, safety, physical education, and a balanced diet.