OP/ED: Super Size Me

I've been hearing about this movie for some time, and it kind of got me thinking- the director of the movie, Murgan Spurlock, says that he made this movie to invoke a change in the fast food trends. But why? He was a relatively fit man, weighing 185.5 pounds prior to starting the "Mickey D's Diet", his cholesterol level was 165, and he had no major health problems. At the end of his 30 day diet, he weighed 210 pounds, his cholesterol jumped to a whopping 230, and was found to have a large amount of fat around his liver, which was actually discovered 21 days into the diet.

McDonalds Gives "Super Size Me" Film Two Thumbs Down

Ads for "Super Size Me," a documentary in which a filmmaker eats a McDonald's-only diet for 30 straight days as he explores the issue of American obesity, will start running Friday in major U.S. newspapers with a "two thumbs down" quote from the fast-food giant and an offer of discounted tickets for its employees.

They are the leader. Everybody follows the leader," said Spurlock, whose McDonald's diet caused severe health problems. "I picked the company that could most easily, in my opinion, institute change."

"The film is already starting to have an impact," Spurlock said. "How great would it be if we could make people think about what they eat, and how awesome would it be if we could start to educate people about what they eat? Were going to see change come out of this, and we're going to see this film have an impact."

McDonalds, on the other hand, denies this film has had anything to do with recent changes in their menu- including the elmination of the super-size option, and several new salads.

So the question that popped into my conspiracy-theorizing mind is this...

Is this just clever, free, advertising for McDonalds? since I'm sure they had to be notified about the film, considering they are prominently displayed throughout, and they knew they would be going towards a more "healthy" menu, did they just decide to use the film as a point to stir a little controversy about their menu and healthy changes?

Obviously Mickey D's doesn't want to lose their "big mac" image, so it doesn't surprise me that there has been very little advertising in regards to the new menu items- salads especially. so what better way to advertise items you don't particulary want on the menu anyways, than to use a movie that someone else is paying to produce about the effects of your food, albeit the negative effects.

But hey, no press is bad press, right?

[Edited on 5-7-2004 by William One Sac]

[Edited on 5-7-2004 by Valhall]

NO REPLIES?!?

someone has gotta have an opinion on this.

or at least call me stupid, and point me to the thread that already talks about something similar to this

Not surprised McDonalds serves awful food. Do you actually expect to lose weight from eating McDonalds. Give me a break. McDonalds should just stick to their opinion. McDonalds does NOT equal real food. Their food is garbage and it would probably kill you if you had it for more than 30 days. That man was lucky