McDonald’s CMO Pushes Healthy Story
McDonald’s CMO was in New York City Tuesday, dressed in running pants and T-shirt, spreading the message that the company plans to do a better job telling its story—that it offers choices for consumers, not just burgers and fries.
At a press event yesterday to launch a new premium for its Go Active! Happy Meals for adults and a new salad, the CMO of McDonald’s USA, William Lamar, Jr., said that McDonald’s wants consumers to not only have choices, but also foods that fit their lifestyles.
“Whether that’s a taste for a great Big Mac, or whether they are looking for our unforgettable, world-famous French fries, or if they want to have a great tasting salad with fruits and vegetables, we think as long as we offer our customers choices that they want, they’ll visit us more often and reward us for giving us what they desire,” Lamar told PROMO in a separate interview.
The Go Active! Happy Meal for Adults features a premium salad, a Dasani water or medium or larger drink and customizable workout DVDs, available in English or Spanish. Each DVD—created by the Yourself! Fitness team of certified trainers—features a virtual personal trainer and offers 15-minute workouts, each focusing on a specific program, including yoga, cardio, core and strength.
Each DVD is introduced by fitness expert Bob Greene, Oprah’s personal trainer, and includes an information booklet with health messages. A $5 coupon toward the purchase of the complete Yourself! Fitness Program is also included. McDonald’s will offer a different DVD each week starting April 25 through May 22 with the salad-based adult Happy Meals.
Lamar said that McDonald’s is one of the largest seller of salads in the U.S. The company has sold more than 486 million premium salads in the U.S. since their launch in 2003, and has offered salads as a regular menu item since the 1990s, he said.
Also at the event were Greene, nutritionist Dr. Rovenia Brock and McDonald’s food science expert Dr. Dean Ornish, among others, who spoke on behalf of the company and its new healthy products. Representatives played the DVDs and demonstrated the exercises on two floor mats. Ronald McDonald was on hand to perform the exercises.
Lamar said that the activity around the launch was not connected to the new book Chew on This: Everything You Don’t Want to Know About Fast Food, co-authored by fast food critic Eric Schlosser, which hits stores next month. The book targets preteens with information about the fast-food industry. A film based on his earlier best seller, Fast Food Nation, also critical of the fast food industry, is slated to open this fall. Lamar said that the company welcomes constructive dialogue about its business and industry.
“This is not a response to any particular book or magazine or movie,” Lamar said. “This is an offering that our customers have told us in test markets they really like and enjoy. It makes them feel that McDonald’s is providing them with the kind of food choices they like.”
Also yesterday, McDonald’s unveiled its newest premium salad addition, the Asian Salad, which features orange-glazed grilled or crispy chicken, green soybeans, snow peas, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges and greens. The salad, available for $4.29, comes with Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger salad dressing and a package of sliced and toasted almonds on the side. TV spots and in-store signage will support.
McDonald’s launched the adult version of its Happy Meal in 2004, with pedometers as premiums. In total, McDonald’s has given out more than 15 million pedometers. (Xtra, Feb. 3, 2004).
“We think the most important thing is for people to know the McDonald’s story…everything we do from offering choices from the great opportunity we have in employment in our organization,” Lamar said. “We’re going to continue to do what we’re doing and do a better job of telling our story.”
