On the Web
Although people found a slew of ways the clown and the brand he promotes shapes the world our children live in, online Ronald actually creates a world…a McWorld, that is…for children to explore and, were it possible, inhabit.
To unlock “all kinds of cool stuff” in McDonald’s virtual world (the “Happy Meal gone digital” to borrow from the web site’s description) kids are encouraged to frequent McDonald’s and look for special codes found on the Happy Meal’s “healthier” items (apples with caramel dipping sauce, White and Chocolate Milk Jugs). So, in other words, in order to maximize fun in this “free” virtual space, children are incentivized to buy Happy Meals. In McWorld, “where kids rule,” buying Happy Meals is the best way to obtain, “accessories for your avatar, treehouse, or interactive pets” and visit with popular movie, comic and TV characters.
For parents concerned about their children spending their free time in the corporation’s promotional virtual reality, instead of reading, getting exercise or exploring educational sites, not to worry – buried in the fine print McDonald’s reminds children to follow family rules on internet use. Kids, never mind the voice that comes with each scroll over reminding you that “kids rule.”
What a perfect world in which to hawk hamburgers, right? Well, that may be because earlier incarnations of McDonald’s web presence were geared primarily at gathering information on the behaviors and preferences of its youngest customers.
Declaring Ronald “the ultimate authority on everything” the first McDonald’s kids-oriented web site encouraged children to send the clown an email telling him their name, favorite McDonald’s menu item, and other personal information that would help the corporation assemble data about the interests and hobbies of their child consumers.
Today children are protected from such overt tactics by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, which took effect in 2000. But rest assured, McDonald’s is still able to gather information by observing the behavior of children in its McWorld.
In McWorld’s partner site, Ronald.com, McDonald’s advertises in the form of games, often referred to as adver-games, as well as party kits. Like in McWorld, parents needn’t worry children will mistake the web site for anything but an interactive advertisement – written innocuously in white, small print in the upper right-hand corner is the warning, “hey kids, this is advertising.”
Unfortunately, while these interactions with Ronald McDonald occur virtually, his influence on our children’s eating habits are very real.