Fast Company's Danielle Sacks discusses the irony of fast-food chains pedalling wares for enhanced mindfulness and health. It's crazy enough it just might work. Sigh.
"The pristine white packaging engraved with shiny gold lettering was enough to make me suspicious. When I realized the gold lettering was actually Mickey D's iconic 'M' (with modern urban twist 'I'm lovin it') hanging above the phrase 'Yourself Fitness' I knew I was in trouble. The kicker was when I opened McDonald's latest PR schwag to discover burger-branded yoga and cardio videos. Ugh.
Okay, if fast food cattle houses want to peddle mandarin-accented salads and bottled water, great. But to try and spin your cause to health, the message is so unnatural it's like showing up at church to find out the priest is trying to convince you to convert to Judaism.
The new ploy is a cobranded effort with a videogame company that has created 'Maya,' an attractive Latino personal trainer who can be channeled through PlayStation2 and XBox consoles. Maya can take you through 'yoga for relaxation and rejuvination, cardio for burning calories and boosting metabolism, core for strengthening the abs and spine, and strength for toning and tightening.' All this inside the new 'Go Active! Happy Meal for Adults!'
Listen, I'm all for companies encouraging healthy living. But to come from the source of clogged arteries, heart attacks and the super-sizing of America is just plain disingenuious, if not insulting. I'm just waiting for the press release announcing that McDonald's and Krispy Kreme have partnered to launch a new chain of gyms...is there no shame -- or common sense -- in the branding world?"
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