Whenever a corporation donates money and &c. to a good cause there’s one thing that you have to keep in mind. If they are a publicly held corporation they have shareholders who would not take too kindly to their money being given away for no good reason (meaning they expect some sort of return). Therefore, it is good business for a corporation to appear as a good corporate citizen.

With that being said I saw two stories on the website Commercial Alert that I wanted to highlight. The first involves the Yum! Brands owned Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Kentucky Fried Chicken today announced its own urban renewal program. The chicken chain has offered to fill up the potholes in five major U.S. cities to promote its “fresh” brand positioning.

Giving back has become a trend for marketers, including Starbucks, Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and others that have centered their message around helping the community.

KFC sent a letter to U.S. mayors today asking them to nominate their cities’ roads to be refreshed. Every pothole filled by the fast feeder will be covered in nonpermanent street chalk with the words “Re-freshed by KFC.”

What’s sad is that in these turbulent economic times we’re in, there are going to be government officials in major cities that will take KFC up on this offer. You could not ask for better advertising! In the age of personal video recorders which let you skip commercials this is the kind of advertising we’re going to see more and more of.

Not everyone is enthused about the publicity stunt. “There is an aggressiveness towards moving into new dimensions of public spaces. This would be another example of this unfortunate incursion of advertising messaging into [consumers’ lives],” said Robert Weissman, director of Commercial Alert. “KFC should fix their menu first.”

Which brings us to McDonalds and their announcement that they want to “move into” school education with a free online math program. With the article in yesterday’s NY Times on the proximity of schools next to a fast food establishment playing a factor in student obesity. Is there any wonder that McDonalds would try and shore up their base?  They want to burn the image of the golden arches into student’s brains so that they’ll keep on coming back for more punishment. Whatever investment they are making in the program is a good one for them considering that these kids will grow up to be McDonalds eating adults too. Like the tobacco corporations fast food aims to get ‘em while they’re young.

Honestly, and McDonald’s wonders why the term McJob was coined after them. The following is from an online campaign being waged by the Service Employees Inernational Union.

McDonald’s isn’t lovin’ free choice for its employees. The fast food giant is reportedly organizing its restaurant owners to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. McDonald’s has reportedly even formed an “internal response team…to actively participate in the opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.”

McDonald’s has more than 600,000 employees in the US, many of whom earn less than $10/hour. But last year its CEO took home more than $13 million. Now McDonald’s leadership is actively organizing to prevent its employees from standing up for themselves at work.

Write to McDonalds and say employees need the Employee Free Choice Act – we’ll send your letters to McDonald’s headquarters to make sure they get the message.

McDonald’s won’t be the only corporation we’ll see come out in force against the Employee Free Choice Act.

I saw that McDonalds is trying to woo mother’s to their side.

So here is Debra DeMuth, McDonald’s global nutrition director, mounting a spirited defense of fries to five mothers of young children at a McDonald’s in Baltimore.

“They are probably one of the most victimized foods,” DeMuth says.

Plausible reason: A medium order at McDonald’s, besides the delectable taste, includes 380 calories, 270 milligrams of sodium and a color preservative called sodium acid pyrophosphate. But DeMuth presses her case, pointing out that fries are rich in potassium, adding, “They are also a really good source of fiber.”

One mom replies, “Once you throw them in grease, you kind of ruin it.”

Another says, “Potassium is good in bananas.”

Uhh yeah. I’d stick with the bananas. I will say as far as faster food goes I’ve noticed this new kid on the block called Chop’t that looks rather interesting and a lot healthier. If only people could see that there is definitely a market for healthier “faster” foods out there.

From Flickr

This is just another example of big corporations infringing on other people’s copyright’s but then getting all upset when it’s done to them. What’s sad is that the marketing department at McDonalds wasn’t wise enough to check to see if something like the likeness of a 80’s new wave band was copyrighted. It shows their arrogance.

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