The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Josh Golin (857-241-2028; josh@commercialfreechildhood.org)

Parents Demand End to Violent Happy Meal Toy Promotion; Action Figure Tells Kids, "It's Clobberin' Time"

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a letter-writing campaign
demanding that McDonald's pull its current Happy Meal promotion
featuring Marvel comic book heroes. One action figure, The Thing,
menacingly roars "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" each time a child presses a
button on its back. Another, The Human Torch, is a man on fire.

BOSTON

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a letter-writing campaign
demanding that McDonald's pull its current Happy Meal promotion
featuring Marvel comic book heroes. One action figure, The Thing,
menacingly roars "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" each time a child presses a
button on its back. Another, The Human Torch, is a man on fire.

"It's bad enough to use junk toys to
sell children on junk food," said CCFC's Director Dr. Susan Linn. "But
now, for preschool boys, a so-called happy meal at McDonald's features
the horrifying spectacle of a man engulfed in flames and a menacing
figure that explicitly spurs them to violence."

McDonald's
Happy Meal promotions have increasingly come under attack from public
health advocates. In April, Santa Clara County, California banned toy
giveaways at fast food restaurants with children's meals of poor
nutritional quality. In June, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
served McDonald's with a notice of its intent to sue if the fast food
giant continues to use toys to promote Happy Meals. In response, a
McDonald's executive told Restaurant News that "getting a toy is just
one part of a fun, family experience at McDonald's."

Replied Dr. Linn, "If clobberin'
time is McDonald's idea of family fun, it's time to steer clear of the
Golden Arches."

Fairplay, formerly known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, educates the public about commercialism's impact on kids' wellbeing and advocates for the end of child-targeted marketing. Fairplay organizes parents to hold corporations accountable for their marketing practices, advocates for policies to protect kids, and works with parents and professionals to reduce children's screen time.