McDonald's Brags About Their 'Healthy' Diet Shrek Promotion For Kids

Have movie tie-ins like Shrek and McDonald's taken marketing too far?

When is the craziness gonna end with these cross-promotions between blockbuster films aimed at children and fast food restaurants? We wonder why childhood obesity isn't getting any better and yet we continue to see such blatant abuse of the love and trust kids have in these characters they see on the silver screen.

McDonald's is notorious for feigning to be a supporter of health with gimmicks like their new R Gym and donating money to combat childhood obesity while still serving such high-carb garbage "food" products as French Fries, apple pies, and milkshakes. Now they've done it again with the release this week of what is sure to be the biggest animated film of all-time--Shrek The Third.

You'll recall my blog post about how ironic it is that Shrek was being used to promote exercise by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services while simultaneously pushing junk foods like Skittles, M&M's, Fruit Loops, and other sugary, carb-loaded products. Now the big green lovable ogre is pushing something strange again--"healthy" meals for kids at McDonald's?

This PR Week column says McDonald's has teamed up with Dreamworks on this massive Shrek campaign to try to encourage children to eat better. Ooooookay, so an ogre who eats anything and everything in sight wants kids to do as he says not as he does. I see.

The new Shrek Happy Meal gives the following "healthy" food choices for children--Chicken McNuggets (breaded and packed with carbohydrates), Apple Dippers with Caramel Dipping Sauce (as if the sugar from the apples wasn't bad enough, you have to give them a high-fructose corn syrup dip, too--oh yeah, it's LOW-FAT!), low-fat milk (um, that's not exactly healthy for you, I hate to break it to the head honchos at Mickey D's!) and a Shrek toy (well, at least SOMETHING is carb-free).

Isn't this just disgusting! The worst part of all is McDonald's can thump its chest at how responsible they are to offer such "healthy" options for their customers when they are doing no such thing. Of course, they're playing it up by claiming their Shrek marketing strategy is the "single biggest global promotion" of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk in the company's history.

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Well, goodie goodie for you, McDonald's! But don't give me the fruit and vegetable copout answer! You have YET to cater to the low-carber on your menu while you have bent over backwards sucking up to the nutritional advice of people like one of your health advisory board consultants, Dr. Dean Ornish. Even HE told me in my interview with him last year that you should be doing more.

Why is that, McDonald's? What's wrong with putting even a few token "low-carb" items on your menu so that we can find something healthy for us to eat when we are on the road, hmmm? Grilled chicken nuggets, blueberries and cream, sugar-free low-carb cookies, ANYTHING! Do you even care about having us as customers?

But all this talk of being about a "healthy" diet at McDonald's has led the British CEO to protest that they need to stop the masquerade and get back to selling bigger burgers instead. Ahhh, nothing like a little truth for a change!

Nevertheless, marketing promotions like the one with Shrek remain to give kids "choices." Sigh. While Shrek may be telling kids to "Go For Green," I have a feeling they'll keep on going for carbs instead (just look at the statistics from a recent American Diabetes Association report about what constitutes vegetable consumption by kids these days--it's a SHOCKER!).

This isn't just an American problem either as McDonald's has taken their Shrek campaign to over 100 nations worldwide. So, by all means go watch Shrek, Donkey, The Gingerbread Man, Puss In Boots, and Fiona in their magical tale this weekend. But tell your kids about what healthy eating is REALLY about by celebrating with a meal fit for a low-carb king.

It's NOT at McDonald's, I can assure you of that.

Is Shrek Really A 'Good Model' For Exercise?

The Shrek character is being used to promote health to children

My wife Christine and I are BIG fans of the Shrek movies. We think Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy are a hilarious comedy team and the computer animation in these movies is just incredible. Dreamworks has been able to bankroll the rest of their entire lineup of films just with the profits they've made from the Shrek empire. We can't wait for the third installment in the series which hits theaters on May 18.

Because of the very high marketability of the characters from the movie, particularly Shrek and Donkey, all sorts of companies have lined up to use them in a cross-promotional effort to push their products. I was watching television the other day and noticed they put the M&M characters together with Shrek and Donkey in a 30-second spot. It was a cute commercial despite the high-sugar product that was being peddled.

You'll also see "Shrek The Third" promotions for other foods like Snicker bars, Skittles, Sierra Mist, Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes, Pop-Tarts, Cheez-Its, Keebler cookies, and even a Happy Meal at McDonald's. With all this high-carb garbage being recommended by Shrek and his pals, it was more than a bit unusual to read this FOX News story about another surprising product Shrek has been asked to represent--EXERCISE!

THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Check it out for yourself by clicking HERE.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Small Step Kids campaign has Shrek with his big fat ogre face and body jumping up (did you feel the Earth shake when he landed? Hee hee!). There's also Donkey's Jumping Jacks, Fiona's Sit Ups, Puss In Boots Push Ups, Hopping With Gingy (the Gingerbread Man!), and The Running Of The Pigs. All of this is supposed to encourage kids to get in one hour of exercise daily. Hmmm.

Let me just say that I can appreciate the good intentions of this government-endorsed Shrek promotion of exercise. But you can't help but think about how confusing this must be to little Johnny or Jane who sees their favorite movie characters eating foods like Happy Meals, Fruit Loops, or M&M's and then those same character encouraging exercise.

So which is it, Shrek? Healthy or unhealthy habits?

Well, I'm not alone in my concerns. A group called The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood said these close ties between Shrek and the unhealthy foods makes the popular animated character a poor choice to represent exercise.

They have even organized this petition drive to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt for him to "Fire Shrek" and to "start getting serious about combating childhood obesity."

Commercial-Free Childhood campaign director Susan Linn, a psychiatry professor at Harvard, wrote a letter to Secretary Leavitt on Wednesday stating the use of Shrek in their exercise promotion to kids demonstrates "an inherent conflict of interest between marketing junk food and promoting public health."

"Surely Health and Human Services can find a better spokesperson for healthy living than a character who is a walking advertisement for McDonald's, sugary cereals, cookies and candy," she exclaimed.

But Health and Human Services spokesperson Bill Hall said the Shrek promotion has been underway for several months and that nothing is going to change now. The public service announcement television ads are also a part of the efforts by the Ad Council's Coalition for Healthy Children. In fact, Hall says there nothing at all wrong with using Shrek in these ads.

"Shrek is a very well known character in the target population of this campaign," he remarked. "We have always promoted a balanced, healthy diet, which does not necessarily exclude the occasional treat."

Occasional treat, Mr. Hall? Of ALL of those foods promoted by Shrek, guess how many of them are NOT loaded with sugar, sugar, and more sugar?! Just one--the Cheez-Its--but even that product has so much flour in it that the carbs turn into sugar in your body which then make you fat. To purport that a "balanced, healthy diet" includes these products is about as naive as it is ignorant.

You and I both know that kids eat these foods as their PRIMARY source of energy, not as the "occasional treat." When they see Shrek on the television or on the packaging of these food products, children immediately start screaming "Mommy, Mommy, I've got to have the Shrek Fruit Loops and Pop-Tarts! Please, please, please?!!" Of course, that's what marketing is supposed to do and the parents give in. Welcome to modern day capitalism!

If the Shrek endorsement of these products only brought about a nominal increase in sales, then they wouldn't use that character again in future ads. But the fact is Shrek is very influential on young impressionable minds, which is why Linn says the conflicting messages about healthy living is confusing to little kids who idolize and trust whatever their movie star tells them.

"Why would young children follow Shrek's advice about healthy living and ignore his entreaties to eat Happy Meals and Pop-Tarts?" she wrote in her letter. "If government agencies are serious about combating childhood obesity, they should stop cozying up to industry and start taking real steps to end the barrage of junk food marketing aimed at children."

I don't personally have an issue with Shrek promoting healthy choices such as exercising for an hour a day. That's excellent advice in this generation of video games, computers, and other non-physical activities that our children are engaging in. But not in conjunction with these other ads promoting junk foods. Therein lies the conflict of interest.

But don't tell that to Health and Human Services deputy assistant secretary.

"Shrek is a good model, especially for children who can benefit from more exercise," Deputy Assistant Secretary Penelope Royall responded. "He doesn't have a perfect physique, he's not a great athlete. We hope children will understand that being physically fit doesn't require being a great athlete."

Yep, you read that right. Royall said Shrek is a "good model" for healthy activity and living. The character stuffs his mouth nonstop with all kinds of nasty stuff while his big ole belly and butt hang out like some kind of tumor. It's what makes Shrek the character funny, but most definitely NOT a role model for children when it comes to health.

Royall said the purpose of the ads was to get children to exercise, not eat right. But how can you promote health by pushing activity and not diet, Ms. Royall? That's a strange way to combat childhood obesity if that is indeed your goal with this ad campaign. The best approach would be two-pronged--promote healthy nutrient-dense foods along with moderate and fun activities that will get your heart rate up and burn calories.

Dreamworks says they just want to be "responsible marketers" in all of this with their Shrek brand. Well, you've failed miserably at that and the almighty dollar seems to supercede all your good intentions. If you had Shrek promoting sugar-free chocolates or eggs, then perhaps you could be seen as more "responsiible." But not now.

Don't forget to sign the petition to Secretary Leavitt.