McDonald’s has ended a promotion in Florida on the jacket’s of children’s report cards after an advocacy group and a parent complained.
The promotion offered free Happy Meals to students in exchange for good grades, citizenship or attendance.
In December, the parent of a 9-year-old attending school there complained to the school and then to Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, which took the case to the media. The story received widespread coverage. (January Promo).
“In the absence of needed government regulation to protect schoolchildren from predatory companies like McDonald’s, the burden is on parents to be vigilant about exploitative marketing aimed at children,” the group said in a release. “One parent can make a difference.”
McDonald’s said it would cover the costs to reprint the jackets.
"It was McDonald's decision to remove our trademarks from report card jackets in Seminole County, Florida, because we believe the focus should be on the importance of a good education," the company said in a statement."The company also said that it would continue its ties to schools.
"McDonald’s support of education and academic excellence is an important and integral part of our heritage. Our support of education, as well as our relationship with local schools across the country, is a long-standing commitment and will continue," the statement said.
The owners of McDonald’s restaurants in Seminole County had underwritten the $1,500 to $1,700 per year it cost for the promotion.
McDonald’s is one of 13 major food companies that in November 2006 voluntarily agreed to step up self-regulation regarding kids under age 12. One of the principles outlined in the Council of Better Business Bureaus' Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative specifically states that the signees may not advertise food or beverages in elementary schools. The pledge took effect Jan. 1.
