McDonalds Is The World's Biggest Toystore

Yeah - advertising to children is a scam. The between the lines item here is that McDonalds is the world's largest distributor of toys - and they don't sell them. Hmmmm...... what came first... the food or the toy.... Many parents will tell you it is the toy that was the motivator.

Mom sues McDonald’s over Happy Meals

Published: April 29

Okay, see if this seems familiar: You (or your brother or your sister) beg to stop at McDonald’s to get a Happy Meal because of the cool toy. Your mom says no, because she wants you to eat more-healthful food.

But a lawsuit filed by a mom in California says that Happy Meals toys should be made illegal because McDonald’s unfairly uses them to get kids to want to come to their restaurants.

Happy Meals make McDonald’s a lot of money. In fact, McDonald’s is the world’s biggest distributor of toys because of its Happy Meals. But nutritionists, parents and lawmakers are concerned about the growing problem of childhood obesity and a sense that restaurants aren’t doing enough to offer more-healthful choices.

McDonald’s says that the lawsuit, filed by Monet Parham, a mother of two, should be dismissed because advertising didn’t make her buy her children Happy Meals. (Parents can always say no, the company says.)

“In short, advertising to children any product that a child asks for but the parent does not want to buy” would be illegal based on Parham’s suit, the company said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/mom-sues-mcdonalds-over-happy-meals/2011/04/19/AFlyB9FF_story.html