June 28, 2009

McDonald's response on Custer toy

Tim Giago: McDonald's mentality needs revampAn extremely weak and calculated response from McDonald’s came to the newspaper in short order. It read: “At McDonald’s we value and respect people of all ethnicities, as well as their cultural history. The Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Happy Meal features eight toys portraying different characters from the film. As with all Happy Meal promotions, our goal is to provide families a positive experience that can be shared by all.” Say what? A positive experience? Who are they trying to kid? The response was signed by Danya Proud, Spokesperson for McDonald’s USA.

After the Native Sun News attempted to get comments from McDonald’s corporate executives for the breaking story, suddenly all of the Custer dolls were pulled from the Happy Meals in Rapid City. The same thing happened in some communities in Oklahoma and New Mexico, states with large Indian populations. Surely someone at McDonald’s was taken aback by this outrageous faux paux and ordered the removal of the offending figurines.
Comment: For more on the subject, see Custer Toy Is Movie Promo and Happy Meal with Custer Doll.

1 comment:

sandyv said...

To me this is just outrageous. Who was the brilliant idiot that thought this up? Why didn't they eliminate Custer in the first place? I haven't gone to a Mcdonalds since they did this as I feel it is a slap in the face of Natives all over. This toy should have been pulled nationwide, not just near reservations or large Native populations. As a white person, I am offended that they were so shallow as to do this in the first place.