Battle of the Toys: Non-Profit Sues McDonald's for Predatory Marketing

One non-profit is throwing the book at Shrek, Barbie, and Strawberry Shortcake. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced today that it will sue McDonald's for the fast food chain's advertising of Happy Meal toys. Big Food better brace itself for a long and arduous court battle.

The class-action lawsuit, which was filed in San Francisco's California Superior Court today, was a long time coming. CSPI first informed McDonald's of its plans to sue the company back in June. Though the non-profit repeatedly asked the Golden Arches to agree to a meeting and perhaps avoid litigation, the fast food giant refused.

Which leads us to the class-action suit: CSPI claims that the Golden Arches unfairly advertises toys to entice kids to ask — or rather, beg, plead, and implore — their parents for unhealthy Happy Meals. Because children under the age of eight are cognitively unable to discern between advertising and other kinds of programming, CSPI says McDonald's use of toys isn't just deceptive and predatory — it's downright illegal.

CSPI lawyers looked to Big Tobacco for inspiration on how to build their case. You see, many states — including California — have consumer protection laws in place to shield folks from deceptive marketing tactics. Traditionally these laws are used to prevent companies like banks and mortgage lenders from making false claims, but a few years ago lawyers used them against Big Tobacco to restrict cigarette ads. "In this instance, McDonald's is even worse than tobacco companies because it's going straight at little kids," Steve Gardner, CSPI's litigation director, said during a press teleconference today.

CSPI has the figures to back those claims up: In 2006 alone, the fast food industry — with McDonald's leading the pack — spent more than $520 million to advertise toys and kids meals. Of that tidy sum, $350 million went towards toy premiums. Apparently the promise of a shiny, new toy in the form of a lovable character brings in kids by the car-full — and that means big dough for the Golden Arches and other fast food vendors. Roy Bergold, McDonald's former advertising exec, wrote in QSR magazine that “companies have found that kids are a lot more tempted by the toys than the food.”

Monet Parham, a Sacramento mother of two, is technically the person filing this class-action lawsuit (with some serious help from CSPI). Parham claims that McDonald's predatory marketing puts a huge burden on her as a parent. "I am concerned about the health of my children and feel the McDonald's should be a very limited part of their diet and childhood experience," Parham said in a press release. "But as other busy, working moms and dads know, we have to say 'no' to our young children so many times, and McDonald's makes that so much harder to do. I object to the fact that McDonald's is getting into my kids' heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat."

Yes, parents could simply say "no" when their kids beg for Happy Meals. It's virtually impossible, however, to shield kids from advertising. Young children are completely unable to understand what is advertising and what is not, nor can they differentiate between persuasion and traditional programming. McDonald's advertising of toys is the equivalent of brainwashing defenseless children, creeping into their minds and prompting them to crave fattening Happy Meals.

CSPI lawyers are preparing for an uphill battle with Big Food, but with enough support, we can tackle predatory marketing schemes. You can help CSPI out by signing its petition telling McDonald's to stop using toys to market junk food to kids.

Photo credit: claudiolobos via Flickr