McDonald - The Arthur Page Society

the author of Fast Food Nation, on NBC’s Today show. 130 What McDonald’s did do was
provide the Today show with a statement of facts and an invitation for them to visit the
McDonald’s web site. Schlosser commented that McDonald’s has “refused to discuss
any of the issues raised by my work or to appear in any public forum with me.” 131 When
confronted with unfavorable investigative reporting, McDonald’s has consistently denied
the published reports. McDonald’s has also denied that it took any actions in response to
the film Super Size Me even though the timing of those actions says otherwise.
As evidenced above, there has been a tendency for McDonald’s to communicate
in a one way, asymmetrical manner. Their main message has been to be aggressive in
“getting out their side of the story,” they’ve negated the impact of criticisms, etc.
However, McDonald’s has also taken several positive steps toward providing beneficial
solutions to the issue of health and nutrition. For instance, McDonald’s creation of their
corporate social responsibility blog that allows feedback and discussion stands out as a
communication tactic designed to build openness and trust with external publics.
Furthermore, in the area of marketing initiatives McDonald’s has done very well in
showing commitment and involvement with the health and nutrition debate. McDonald’s
introduced several healthy-choice menu items including premium salads and Go Active!
Happy Meals for adults. They promoted a walking program and gave out free
pedometers. They produced a program titled “Get Moving with Ronald McDonald,” and
used a cartoon character, McMunchright, to present health and fitness messages on
television targeted to children. Going into 2006, McDonald’s reaffirmed its commitment
to “providing information on nutrition and promoting physical activity to support our
customers’ needs to make the best choices for their lifestyles.” 132 McDonald’s has also
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