McDonald's rounds off a decade of 'shame' awards

Nicola Riches
By Nicola Riches | 8 December 2015
 

Fast food companies have been slammed for a 10th year in a row by the Parents' Voice Fame and Shame Awards, which were revealed this morning in Melbourne.

McDonald's Australia walked away – head bowed no doubt – with three accolades: the Digital Ninja, Pester Power and a Worst of the Decade award for marketing junk food to kids for the past 10 years.

Parents' Voice cited the Happy Reader promotion, which offers kids a selection of free books and digital readers with the purchase of a McDonald’s Happy Meal. It calculates that children would have to consume 23 happy meals in eight weeks to collect all 10 books and 16 digital readers.

The lobby group also highlighted a TV spot where the ‘Happy Meal’ character played a starring role in a clip from the Minions movie – this picked up the Pester Power award.

Coke was also the recipient of an award – this year in the “Smoke and Mirrors” category on account of the introduction of Coke Life. Mother of two, Cheryl McLeod from Melbourne, said: “You have to look past the green coloured packaging and study the label to realise that there are 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 600ml bottle!”

Much of the blame for marketing to children has been placed on the lack of regulation online and across social media. “Companies are developing games, apps, or Facebook sites using junk food products as the ‘hero’ character and designing them to appeal to kids and teenagers,” said a statement from Parents' Voice.

Campaigns manager Alice Pryor added that it’s "very disappointing" that so little progress has been made in the last decade.

"Protecting children from being bombarded by junk food marketing is no longer achieved by simply turning off the TV. Parents need to be constantly vigilant about a digital world that surrounds kids, " she said.

Meanwhile, KFC’s sponsorship of the Big Bash League got parents’ vote for the Foul Sport Award. The chicken shop was judged to be the worst for sending misleading messages to children that consuming unhealthy products is consistent with a sporting career and healthy lifestyle.

However, Charlie Pickering’s The Weekly and Gruen were commended for flagging the issue with the former receiving the Media Spotlight Award.

Nutrition Australia and Produce Marketing Association (ANZ) was commended in the Parents’ Choice Award for their fun Pick Right. Feel Bright! campaign which features The Wiggles as ambassadors and encourages families to choose fresh fruit and vegetables over processed foods.

Yesterday (Mon) AdNews reported on how McDonald's wants to be top of mind when consumers wake up in the morning, with the brand launching a new prize-giving alarm app.

Email Nicola at nicolariches@yaffa.com.au.

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