McDonald’s will be introducing their new Happy Meal ambassador on Friday. The new mascot is said to bring “fun and excitement” to children, but comments on social media say otherwise. Users on Twitter said that the new mascot is scary and is bound to make children have nightmares.
The new mascot is in the shape of a red happy meal box, with a large mouth and two big eyes. Soon after images of the mascot were released, #McScary was born.
McDonalds new mascot is as horrendous as the wages they pay their workers! #McScary #FastFoodGlobal #CorporateGreed pic.twitter.com/cExPVxHZkd
— Lindsey Rachev (@BGPrincess05) May 22, 2014
One user said, “’Happy’ looks more McCreepy/McPervey than McScary.” Another user said, “It’s the meal that eats you.”
“Happy” looks more McCreepy/McPervey than McScary http://t.co/F9mCGWLzvO
— Justin (@BayAreaKahuna21) May 20, 2014
This is hilarious “It’s the meal that eats you.” McDonald’s ‘terrifying’ new Happy Meal mascot goes viral http://t.co/nZckEfS4N1
— Catalina Gomez (@cattyyyG) May 20, 2014
In a statement from McDonald’s, they said that the new mascot “will encourage kids to enjoy fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and wholesome beverages such as water or juice.”
Happy will be formally introduced nationwide on Friday. Lisa McComb, the spokeswoman for McDonald’s, responded to comments on Twitter by saying that Happy has been “loved and well-received by children and families in Latin America and Europe” since 2009.
Meanwhile at Happy Headquarters… pic.twitter.com/ljcoUIb5PF
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds) May 20, 2014
@McDonalds aww, they don’t look so bad here. Maybe the photo we all saw was just a bad angle. #teamhappy
— ART (@heyart) May 20, 2014
She also said that users are free to express their opinions on social media, but their opinions do not represent “the broader view.”
The McDonald’s annual shareholders meeting will be held on Thursday. The fast food chain has been criticized for providing high-calorie food, which many see as bad for the health. For the past years, the U.S. food industry has been facing pressure from the government to think about the food choices they offer, and come up with a solution to address the growing obesity epidemic.
McDonald’s has been doing their part by adding healthier food choices on their Mighty Kids Meal and Happy Meal. In 2012, they began offering a kid-size fry and apple slices for kiddie meals. In July, they will also be introducing Go-GURT to children’s meals, which is a low-fat strawberry yogurt.
Image via YouTube