As I was reading through the class blogs, one particular student’s blog gave me a good chuckle – my buddy Justin Lew. I found it so ironic that he used his marketing blog as a place to market a product that he endorses, in this case, Drop Box. I figure that link of his probably benefits him in some way though. From my experience, referral links always have some incentive for the poster, right Justin? (Jokes aside, I’m a Drop Box user as well and I think it’s a great program.)

Now to the real reason I’m mentioning Justin in my blog. I feel that his post about “radical marketing detracting from what is important for consumers” (found here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/justinlew/) really hit the nail on the head about the darker sides of corporate advertisements and marketing campaigns. What should matter is the product itself, not how you perceive it! Of course, this kind of mindset yields significantly less profit, so why bother?

This brings me to the title of this blog post. In the U.K., McDonald’s fast food chains are now replacing the toys in their iconic ‘Happy Meals’ with children’s books! While this may seem like a great idea, I feel that this is just another scheme cooked up by McDonald’s head office in order to portray a healthier image and to trick unwary consumers into purchasing more of their unhealthy fast food. As I mentioned earlier, what should matter is the product, not how it is presented. Pairing a fatty burger, french fries and a soft drink with a book doesn’t make it any more healthy. Let’s hope parents in the U.K. don’t suddenly think ‘Happy Meals’ are a good sustenance option for their children because of this unexpected change.

For the full story, go to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/mcdonald-replacing-happy-meal-toys-books-u-k-203338702.html