Over the years, McDonald's has faced some criticism and has been accused of some questionable
acts, which doesn't always paint a rosy picture of the company. But, despite everything, there's
no denying that people still love the food! Here are the Top 10 McDonald's Controversies
that left everyone shocked.
Is McDonald's Racist?
Have you ever been told that you should always read the fine print? Well, When it comes to
this McDonald's scandal, that’s exactly what people should have done before jumping
to conclusions. A Swedish ad had quite the backlash when it first hit the public's eye.
Many people were offended and beyond insulted by the lack of open-mindedness McDonald's
was displaying. That is until they read the fine print. In big yellow letters, the ad
read: "We don't hire Turks, Greeks, Poles, Indians, Ethiopians, Vietnamese, Chinese or
Peruvians," which at first glance, can understandably make you want to march down to the head office
and give the people responsible for this a piece of your mind. But, upon further reading,
a new light is shed on the controversial ad. It reads: "Nor Swedes, South Koreans or Norwegians.
We hire individuals. We don’t care what your surname is. Because ambition and determination
have nothing to do with your nationality.” The definition of a turn of events! This formerly
offensive ad is now considered a creative and witty marketing strategy. Not only is
the ad not racist, but McD's is encouraging diversity! Now, how's that for not judging
a book by its cover!
Super Size Me
It's no secret that McDonald's isn't exactly the healthiest of foods. In fact, it's not
healthy at all. In 2004, Morgan Spurlock wanted to see just how true that was. He directed
a documentary of himself eating nothing but McDonald's, three times a day for a whole
month. During his journey, he tracked the physical and the psychological effects his
food intake had on his life. While eating 5,000 calories per day, which is twice the
recommended consumption, he gained about 18 pounds, suffered from increased cholesterol,
and struggled with depression. All of that after one month. Needless to say that, following
the release of the documentary, people were not exactly happy. Because of all the negative
feedback they received, McDonald's had to remove the infamous "supersize" option from
their menus and made some drastic efforts to offer "healthier" options. Then again,
some of their salads still have more calories than a Big Mac, so there's still a ways to
go before Mickey D's is mistaken for a health food restaurant. The moral of the story is
this: eating McDonald's once in a while is harmless, but eat it once or more a day, and
the doctor will soon be knocking on your door!
Let's Talk French Fry
The last thing you would expect to get when you order fries is beef. It's just common
sense. You’d expect fried potatoes and salt, that's it. Or so you would think. In 2001,
McDonald's was taken to court after being sued for lying about the way their famous
french fries were really made. The company had previously insisted that their fries were
cooked in 100% vegetable oil. But, as it was later admitted by McDonald's, vegetable oil
isn't the only ingredient in their acclaimed recipe. Indeed, they also use beef flavoring
to give that little pep and recognizable taste that everyone oh-so loves. You can imagine
how that can rub some people the wrong way. Especially vegetarians and multiple religious
groups. Even though McDonald's issued an apology saying they were "sorry if there was confusion"
they still use the same beef flavoring today. McDonald's eventually had to pay $10 million
to various vegetarian and religious groups, but still doesn't seem to be phased by their
own blatant lie. If you have any dietary restrictions, maybe it's best if you steer clear from the
beloved fries, at least in the U.S!
The McAfrika
In an attempt to create menu items from around the world, McDonald's came up with a pita
- made with beef, cheese, tomatoes, and salad, and inspired by African cuisine. It's not
that it tasted bad, but it was in bad taste. You see, this sandwich was sold in Norway,
one of the world's richest nations, in 2002, during the same time a massive famine was
happening in Africa. It's easy to see why the release of this item created
so much controversy. The irony of it all was just too much for people to ignore, and
it was said to be "distasteful and inappropriate" and created a wave of backlash. So much so
that McDonald's agreed to let hunger-relief charities fundraise by installing donation
boxes in the Norway locations that sold the unsuitable flop. Every now and then, you just
have to stop and wonder what goes on inside people's minds sometimes, because honestly,
this campaign was either a pure, unfortunate coincidence or a very tasteless lack of thinking.
The McCheese's Doppelganger
If there's one thing that comes to mind when thinking about McDonald's, it's Ronald McDonald.
He is easily one of the most recognized characters all over the world and an icon for the red
and yellow restaurant chain. Over the years, Ronald was joined by other characters, which
resulted in the creation of McDonaldland, a paradise on earth for kids. Grimace, Officer
Big Mac, the Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese were all part of the crew, but in 1985, one
of those familiar faces had to be forcefully discontinued. It appeared that good old Mayor
McCheese bore a striking resemblance to an already existing character, H.R. Pufnstuf.
The first McDonaldland advertising campaign came out in 1971, only 2 years after the H.R.
Pufnstuf show came out. Coincidence? After a successful legal challenge for copyright
infringement, McDonald's was forced to say goodbye to its beloved mascot, even after
arguing that the characters were completely different. The details argued were the differences
in clothing. The jury ended up siding with the character from the popular children's
show, saying that basically, that minor difference wasn't enough to justify the otherwise apparent
resemblance. Shocking. So, Mayor McCheese packed up his bags and left McDonaldland for
good, and the rest of the gang followed a few years later. Maybe because they all missed
him so much.
Monopoly Shenanigans
The Monopoly scam is probably one of the most infamous scandals ever in McDonald's long
history. Masterminded by Jerome - call me "Uncle Jerry" - Jacobson, the scheme started
in 1987 and lasted for a long 12 years. Jerry worked at the security company responsible
for printing and distributing the games pieces. You see where this is going, right? He saw
an opportunity, and he took it. He started giving the winning pieces to people he knew
in exchange for a cut of their prizes. This went on for 12 whole years before the FBI
finally took notice and took him down. Jerry Jacobson was caught, but not before he had
already defrauded over $24 million dollars in the process. That's a lot of McD's for
one person. McDonald's ended up not being blamed since they didn't know anything about
the whole scam, but they still gave away a compensation package of $10 million dollars
to 55 random customers - and after a lawsuit, they had to give away another $15 million
dollars to 15 other customers. Even though it wasn't technically McDonald's fault, the
company's integrity was brought into the light, and a lot of people had lost their faith and
trust in their favorite fast-food destination. This just goes to prove how easy it is to
make or break a company's reputation. And in the fast food game, reputation is everything.
The McLibel Case
Having a good reputation is extremely important for any restaurant. One bad review or one
crummy rumor can destroy an entire corporation. However, when a British activist group tried
to take down McDonald's, they were met with a big, juicy libel lawsuit. In 1986, the London
Greenpeace Group went around distributing leaflets that read, "What's wrong with McDonald's
- everything they don't want you to know" and accused the company of littering, mass
deforestation, and mistreating animals and workers. McDonald's was not about to let itself
be taken down, so the company sued some of the members of the organization for libel.
The trial lasted several years, and a lot of money was spent to make sure McDonald's
was well represented. $10 million dollars to be exact, while the London Greenpeace members
represented themselves. The British court finally sided with the Golden Arches, and
two of the London Greenpeace members, had to pay $60,000 dollars in damages, but apparently,
the money was never collected.
The Fight For 15
Having happy employees is the key to a successful business, and over the years, McDonald's has
faced a lot of criticism in regard to the treatment of their employees. In 2014, workers
around the globe decided to stand up for themselves and joined the picket lines to protest against
the poor treatment they were receiving, and above all, the low wages. The strikes took
place in over 150 cities and 33 countries. The unified workers were fighting to up the
minimum wage to at least $15 dollars an hour, and while today, many locations are way below
that number, some have actually managed to pull through. Some people who have been working
there for over a decade still make the same hourly salary, even though the cost of living
has become way more expensive than it was 10 years ago. This is obviously not a very
good reputation for a chain to have. Employees claim that McDonald's doesn't really care
about them and that whoever said the company couldn't afford to pay them more money was
lying. If the CEO can get raises, so can the workers! Whether it was in Brazil, Japan,
or Philadelphia, the strikes represented a form of mass solidarity between low-level
workers worldwide, which is not something that is commonly seen but is extremely empowering
for the generations of workers to come!
Careful, It's Hot!
You know that label on your cup when you go to McDonald's that says: "Caution: hot," and
whenever you see it, you can't help but think, "duh?" Well, there is an actual reason behind
why you need a constant reminder that your drink is hot! In 1992, Stella Liebeck, a 79-year-old
woman, suffered third-degree burns after she spilled a cup of coffee on her lap. After
spending eight days in the hospital, receiving major reconstructive surgery, and burning
16 percent of her body, McDonald's thought they should do something to help. So, they
offered her $800 dollars. So, sure enough, she sued the company for $20,000 dollars,
and when they refused to pay, they took the case to court. When the media took an interest
in the case, they painted Liebeck out to be a greedy woman looking for some money, but
what they didn't know was that McDonald's was not following the proper coffee regulations.
Instead of serving their coffee at a standard 160 degrees, they served it at 190. During
the trial, it was revealed that over 700 customers had suffered burns from the McD coffee, which
was not something that could be overlooked now that the evidence was right there, out
in the open. So, the court sided with Liebeck. She was originally going to receive $2.7 million
dollars in punitive damages, but the number was reduced to $480,000 since she was found
to be partially at fault. Now you know why you constantly see that famous warning label,
to avoid lawsuits!
The Strip Search Scam
There's no question that security should be the number one priority at a restaurant for
everyone. Whether you're the customer or the employee. It should also be a priority to
feel safe wherever you go, which is why the pranks by a man named David Stewart were so
believable and hard to ignore. For over a decade, he would prank-call fast-food restaurants,
telling them he was a police officer and that there was a thief in their establishment.
He would then tell whoever was on the phone that they had to conduct a strip search. In
2004, it happened to a McDonald's in Kentucky, where an employee, Louise Ogborn, matched
the description of the thief given by the scammer and had to remove her clothes to be
searched. Her colleague, assistant manager Donna Summers, complied with the scammers
request, thinking it was actually the police on the line. After over 3 hours of being locked
up in an office, and some lurid details involving Summers' boyfriend, who had taken over watch,
Summers eventually called her manager to clear the whole thing up. After the traumatic experience,
Ogborn received over $6 million dollars in damages and expenses, and Summers received
$1.1 million dollars, on the grounds that McDonald's was aware of the prank happening
at other branches but never warned the employees. This teaches us that sometimes, it might be
good to question authority.
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