Ronald McDonald made over as fitness guru

Ronald McDonald made over as fitness guru

June 8, 2005

By Nichola Groom

Hamburger salesperson and clown Ronald McDonald is getting an unlikely image make-over - as a snowboarding, hoops-shooting fitness guru for tots.

The new, athletic Ronald, McDonald´s Corp´s mascot for the last 42 years, will even be sporting a more form-fitting version of his trademark yellow jumpsuit.

In a television commercial that hits airwaves on Friday, an animated Ronald will be seen encouraging kids to get up off the couch and join him in kicking a soccer ball, juggling fruits and vegetables, and riding a skateboard with basketball star and fellow McDonald´s spokesperson Yao Ming
15 percent of American children and adolescents are overweight
.

Images of fruits and vegetables abound in the spot, while hamburgers and fries - the foods McDonald´s is known for - are conspicuously absent.

The decision to leave out images of McDonald´s foods was deliberate, an executive said, because the company wants its message to be about all food - not just the food it sells at its 30 000 restaurants across the globe.

"We felt it more appropriate to expand the discussion to all foods at this point," Jeff Carl, the chain´s corporate vice president of global marketing, said in an interview. That approach, however, could be misleading, according to one health expert.


[link to www.tonight.co.za]

Last Edited by theDtrain on 09/20/2011 04:14 PM