Ronald McDonald isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, who flatly refused to put the burger-peddling clown out to pasture at a recent shareholders’ meeting. For those of you who don’t know what he’s referring to, a group called Corporate Accountability International has called for Ronald’s retirement, calling him "a pied piper drawing youngsters all over the world to food that is high in fat, sodium and calories," and insisting that he is "sending insidious messages to young people." McDonald’s thinks its critics are overreacting, and to be fair, CAI obviously isn’t familiar with the company’s psychedelic era, which was probably worse for children than any of its current marketing. It’s also worth mentioning that a mascot is only as good or bad as the product it represents, and going after Ronald McDonald isn’t nearly as useful as targeting the nutritional content and business practices of his parent company. That said, if McDonald’s could put Ronald to work shilling healthier food choices for kids, that would be great, too. As long as they don’t go too retro on his costume.
—Posted by David Kiefaber