After reading James Shaw’s blog Celebrity endorsements may work; but what about ethics?, it saddens me to know that there are so many “sheep” in the world following the actions of so called “celebrities”. They are just regular people like us, the only difference being that their lives are merely more lavish and more exposed. They should still be entitled to do what they want instead of having to restrict themselves because of others mindlessly copying them. If they want a chihuahua, let them have a chihuahua. If they endorse a certain product, let them do it! At the end of the day, the public’s actions are made by their choice and as such they should be the ones holding the responsibilities. Why blame the celebrities, it’s not their fault that people believe in them!

This is what sheep do...

Additionally, I would like to add that there ARE popular public figures who endorse environmentalism, such as Leonardo DiCaprio or Cameron Diaz who drive hybrid cars and have taken part in the production of environmental media. It’s just that people choose not to follow their good deeds which are deemed “uncool”. Instead, they focus on the more flamboyant activities ignorantly. This just further cements the notion that it is NOT the celebrities fault for the foolish choices of the public. The public can choose what they want to be influenced by, the sad part is that they choose chihuahuas over the planet.

Two of Hollywood's Greenest Celebs!

For further reading on the rare “Green Celebrities”, go to http://greenliving.about.com/od/greenlivingbasics/ss/green_celebrities_3.htm.

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