Par Toutatis! McDonalds’ latest publicity campaign - in an aim to signal the chain's eco-friendly attitude, shows Astérix, the world-famous comic-strip star and legendary defender of all things French, eating in a McDonalds restaurant! Ca alors! The presence - and let's be honest, the popularity of McDo in France is already an anathema to me, but Astérix? Is nothing sacred anymore?
We know why the French eat snails -- because they don't like fast food, of course! And having the golden arches scattered all over the beautiful French countryside is an eyesore which makes the blood boil at the best of times. But we also know that times change and eating habits too, and like the frog in the bucket of water with the slowly raising temperature, we are all guilty of calmly conforming and adjusting to those changing times. But --- Astérix? Digging into a Big Mac and fries with his merry band of lovable Gauls and with poor old Assurancetourix - as usual- cruelly gagged and bound to a tree outside -- THAT is no laughing matter!
Apparently the idea was dreamed up by Marketing Consultants BETC EuroRSCG and is part of a publicity campaign which also features ads using scenes featuring Cinderella and the serial killer from Scream. So, the question out there is what next? If this sacred comic strip loved and enjoyed and treasured by children and adults all over the world for the last 50 years,(The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959 and was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Uderzo also took over the job of writing the series after the death of Goscinny in 1977.)can eat where no puritan gourmet would dare to even look at the menu, then are we also going to see Tintin's Milou doing an ad for dog food, many outraged Blue supporters are asking. In a word then, could it be that one of the most redoubtable of all French national heroes, the indomitable defender of Gauls, who resists oppression thanks to his magic potions and irresistible humour, has finally dropped his guard and been beaten by a Big Mac and a Coke? Has he abandoned his beer and wild boar? Should this iconic symbol of France be used to commercialize American hamburgers? After valiantly resisting the Romans for so long, have the Americans have overcome his resistance to all things un-Gaulish?
I think not! Did we worry when Astérix went to England and drank tea? Quel horreur! Did we get concerned when Astérix went to Belgium and gorged himself on moules frites? #@!!! No! We did not because we knew this valiant little Gaul will, in the end, conquer all and come out the other side saying something like "Ils sont tous bêtes et je suis leur chef, ha ha ha!"
A few months ago, McDonalds started opening 10 prototype restaurants across America -- whose goals were to be to reduce energy and waste. The plan is apparently to eventually have these practices in all McDonalds restaurants . For instance, the Chicago restaurant is reported to use 25% less energy than your average McDonald's location and their tabletops are made of recycled milk jugs...KeenforGreen.com reports that in 2005 McDonald's was listed as an approved business at Ceres -- a network that works to promote corporate sustainability. This was based on their energy efficiency, food resource sustainability, and "'greening' its supply chain. In an aim to become more acceptable to the McDo sceptics, McDonalds has worked with the Environmental Defence Fund for almost 20 years now. In the process they claim to have gotten rid of the Styrofoam sandwich containers, switched to unbleached bags, began using recycled materials for items like booster seats in their restaurants, and more. But, in spite of all of this, McDonalds doesn't always have a great past track record when it came to the environment. In 2006, Greenpeace accused McDonalds (and other fast food restaurants) of destroying the rainforest by feeding their chickens soy-based animal feed derived from soybeans grown in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. Since then, McDonalds has worked together with Greenpeace and agreed to stop selling chicken fed on that soy.
However, last year, when they began serving sweet tea, it came in a Styrofoam cup. What's up with that, Mickey D's? You stopped serving the Big Macs in Styrofoam a long time ago!
Even in Europe, McDonalds "golden arches" against a red background are getting a makeover. The first McDonalds to "go green" (green being the colour chosen because it evokes respect..)were the one that are newly built, including a €1.4 million "flagship" restaurant in the Munich airport, and around the corner from Chateau Lalinde, there is a new 'green' McDo next to the new Bergerac Carrefour. The McCafe coffee bars, with their sleek leather-look seating, warm niche lighting and free WiFi, are a modern departure from the restaurant's old Formica tabletops, molded-plastic chairs and fluorescent lights.
There is no doubt that McDonalds has begun to make efforts to go green, but are their intentions truly altruistic or is this just green-washing? There's been a lot of debate over this on the green blogs over the past few years. At most it is to help their negative image, but at the same time, if their locations are really using 25% less energy and they're making tables out of recycled materials, is that anywhere near enough? McDonalds still does have a VERY long way to go before they can be called a truly green company. If more companies made small strides towards eco-friendliness, even if it's just to receive good publicity, it's something that will help the environment in even a small way. Now the (lack of) nutritional value in their food? That's another story... I think I am with Astérix and Obélix all the way -- I shall be staying with a good hind quarter of a wild boar and some good mead...
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