Unhealthy sponsors for the 2012 Olympics - thoughts?

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  • 80Ben
    80Ben Posts: 119 Member
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    The money is needed, these companies have the money are are willing to give it.

    I live in Canada, and one of our best divers (Alexandre Despatie, 2 silver medals in olympics and 3 gold in world championships) has been advertising for McD for years, which bothers a lot of people. It's a question of consumer's choice, and these athletes need to get the money where they can. Maybe someone like Tiger Woods can be picky about sponsors, but olympic athletes have nowhere near the budget or the liberty to be picky.
  • superpapa16
    superpapa16 Posts: 244 Member
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    If Tampons put forth enough money the NFL would have Eli Manning doing Tampon commercials tomorrow.

    Hahahaha! I would pay to see either ugly Manning shilling tampons and the truth is for enough $$ those greedy *kitten* would do it!
  • mtaylor33557
    mtaylor33557 Posts: 542 Member
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    That's pretty silly in my opinion.

    Do you know how many great causes McDonanld's supports? Someone already mentioned the Ronald McDonald House and they have supported the Olympics for years.

    Eating the occasional fast food doesn't kill you. Everyone knows you shouldn't eat it every day, and if they do, that's a choice they're making.. no one ever forces them to do so.

    McDonald's has the right to sponsor whatever event they choose if they've got the money to put up to do so.
  • Tricialew32
    Tricialew32 Posts: 96 Member
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    It bothers me more that BP is throwing money at the Olympics when they still haven't compensated for the lives they ruined or the mess they made here.
  • Recovering_for_cupcakes
    Recovering_for_cupcakes Posts: 57 Member
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    I find it a bit ironic/humorous because there is no way these Olympic athletes are sucking down Coke and doubtful that they have recently, if ever, touched a McDonalds "food" item. However, at least there is money going to a great event, so the people ignorant enough to eat at McDonalds are giving there money to athletics.

    Actually, at least for the US athletes that is completely untrue. As a former Olympic hopeful I lived at the training center in Colorado Springs for many years and our dining hall was also sponsored by McDonalds. We ate their food whenever we felt the need and otherwise we ate a regular diet. I have no issue with this sponsoring as it allowed a lot of us to train in a way that we would not have been able to do. I may not eat McDonalds every day at this point in my life but when I was training 4 hours a day, twice a day you better believe I ate hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and fries.

    I understand that sponsorship is about the money and successful advertising, but its also about allowing those of us who dedicated their lives to sport and physicality to manifest our dreams on a world stage.
  • superpapa16
    superpapa16 Posts: 244 Member
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    Free choice, I say.

    As stated before... 800 food retail outlets in the Olympics vicinity are prevented from trading foods MacD sell. There will be bag searches and you're not permitted to bring your own food.

    Where is the choice?

    Is there a better link to information about this? The previously linked article was very short and light on details. I'd love to see some more information. What are the "800 food retail outlets" and what is the "vincinity". The impression I had from the previous article was this was banning the caterers within the Olympics from selling fries/ chips as a standalone item or with other foods the exception being with fish. I have a very hard time believing the London Olympic Comittee is attempting to force the removal of fries/ chips from every menu in London.
  • 80Ben
    80Ben Posts: 119 Member
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    Free choice, I say.

    As stated before... 800 food retail outlets in the Olympics vicinity are prevented from trading foods MacD sell. There will be bag searches and you're not permitted to bring your own food.

    Where is the choice?

    Is there a better link to information about this? The previously linked article was very short and light on details. I'd love to see some more information. What are the "800 food retail outlets" and what is the "vincinity". The impression I had from the previous article was this was banning the caterers within the Olympics from selling fries/ chips as a standalone item or with other foods the exception being with fish. I have a very hard time believing the London Olympic Comittee is attempting to force the removal of fries/ chips from every menu in London.

    I wouldn't mess with the Brit's fish & chips...
  • aray379
    aray379 Posts: 131
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    I suppose we should all just look at it as there is good and bad in all. Sure McDonalds contributes to some great causes such as the Olympics and cancer research/coping. But they also sell products (along with some "healthy" products) that contribute to childhood obesity, which is linked to cancer and the use of CAFOs fuel GMO corn, e. coli outbreaks and numerous health complications due to antibiotic use, not to mention animal abuse. People need to move past the idea that you can eat McDonalds products and still lose weight or be "healthy", the company is unhealthy for humans, animals and the environment.

    As always though, we are all entitled to our own opinions. And McDonalds, Coke and beer companies are fueling a lot of great entertainment so it's a benefit exchange.
  • LPCoder
    LPCoder Posts: 404 Member
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    I think some of you may be missing the point. The point that the poster is making is that the citizens now have NO CHOICE in the fries that they eat. Americans, imagine the Olympics coming to your town and all the restaurants in the area are no longer allowed to prepare their own brand of fries. After a long day of watching the Olympics in the Arena, eating McDonalds there because they are the sponsors...you and your friends go to the local restaurant, sit down and and order a nice salmon fillet and fries and the waitress says, "Sorry, you can only buy McDonalds fries during the Olympics. They are across the street, and it costs you $3.00 for a large order." This is what is happening currently. It is not sponsorship, but a monopoly. It is infringement on the rights of the restaurant owners and the citizens of the local area. We (Americans), would never accept such. Then, of course, a McDonalds can be found every three blocks in America so why bother with a restriction here.

    I am sorry for you Brits who have to deal with this. It has actually set a bad precedent for future sponsorship negotiations.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    Free choice, I say.

    As stated before... 800 food retail outlets in the Olympics vicinity are prevented from trading foods MacD sell. There will be bag searches and you're not permitted to bring your own food.

    Where is the choice?

    Irony is so ironic...

    --P
  • MrDarkDays
    MrDarkDays Posts: 1
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    Oh wow, McDonald's is unhealthy?! I honestly had no idea.

    It is a money game, period.

    Sure massive companies like McDonald's fund charities and other worldwide beneficial events, I mean, if I owned a company that was pumping out garbage, I would feel morally obligated to balance the scales.

    "Hey I'm contributing to obesity, cancer, mass polution, animal abuse and a host of other ecological and economical issuses, might as well show everyone that I still care about something!"

    Or maybe they just want the publicity and sales that comes from a grandscale advertisement like... say... sponsoring the Olympics?

    Yes, we are entitled to our own opinions. Yes, we are all capable of making our own choices. However, if we all made smarter choices, companies like McDonald's wouldn't exist. Unfortunately, we all love the convenience of modern society and thats just how it is.

    Oh... for the record, I too enjoy fast food.
  • superpapa16
    superpapa16 Posts: 244 Member
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    I think some of you may be missing the point. The point that the poster is making is that the citizens now have NO CHOICE in the fries that they eat. Americans, imagine the Olympics coming to your town and all the restaurants in the area are no longer allowed to prepare their own brand of fries. After a long day of watching the Olympics in the Arena, eating McDonalds there because they are the sponsors...you and your friends go to the local restaurant, sit down and and order a nice salmon fillet and fries and the waitress says, "Sorry, you can only buy McDonalds fries during the Olympics. They are across the street, and it costs you $3.00 for a large order." This is what is happening currently. It is not sponsorship, but a monopoly. It is infringement on the rights of the restaurant owners and the citizens of the local area. We (Americans), would never accept such. Then, of course, a McDonalds can be found every three blocks in America so why bother with a restriction here.

    I am sorry for you Brits who have to deal with this. It has actually set a bad precedent for future sponsorship negotiations.

    The more I read about this though the less I think this is what is happening. McDonald's has the exclusive rights to sell fries at "The Olympics". This is the actual venues, not the whole of London or England. The 800 "restaurants" affected are vendors at the 40 Olympic sites nationwide. While attending a site if you just have to have fries/ chips by themselves you'll have to get them from McDonald's. Once you leave the site you can go anywhere you want. Seems like a great way to market yourself if you own a place reasonably close to a site.

    I honestly have no issue with this. Every local sporting venue has contracts with food, beer, soda providers and within the venue you can only get that company's product(s).

    Unless I am missing something, and it is possible since I only did a quick Google search, this is not as a big of an issue as it is being made out to be.
  • becon1022
    becon1022 Posts: 39
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    You do realize Coke makes more than just soft drinks. They make Dasani Water, Vitamin Water, Nestea, AquArius, Minute Maide, V8 Splash, Powerade, & I beleive the Simply Apple, Orange, ect fruit drinks. Plus you are saying McDonalds should not be a sponsor of a sporting event because they are unhealthy, but arguing over which kind of unhealthy fries can be sold at the sporting event itself.. Its not alright for McDondalds to sponsor, but it is alright to eat a hamburger & fries while you are there watching it?? McDonalds is giving a crap load of money as a sponsor, so yes I believe they should have the right to stop vendors inside the sporting area from selling fries, esp if its that they cant just sell a order of fries by themselves makes sense to me. Its called perks. If you dont want McDonalds fries buy fish & chips or snack on something else & get your fries on your way home.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    I don't think it matters. Most people don't even watch the Olympics and don't even know who the sponsors are.
  • neaneawy
    neaneawy Posts: 146 Member
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    Aren't Nike or other sporting goods companies sponsors? I understand this isn't food, but it's support from an organization that promotes an active lifestyle.
  • nwhitley
    nwhitley Posts: 619
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    I think some of you may be missing the point. The point that the poster is making is that the citizens now have NO CHOICE in the fries that they eat. Americans, imagine the Olympics coming to your town and all the restaurants in the area are no longer allowed to prepare their own brand of fries. After a long day of watching the Olympics in the Arena, eating McDonalds there because they are the sponsors...you and your friends go to the local restaurant, sit down and and order a nice salmon fillet and fries and the waitress says, "Sorry, you can only buy McDonalds fries during the Olympics. They are across the street, and it costs you $3.00 for a large order." This is what is happening currently. It is not sponsorship, but a monopoly. It is infringement on the rights of the restaurant owners and the citizens of the local area. We (Americans), would never accept such. Then, of course, a McDonalds can be found every three blocks in America so why bother with a restriction here.

    I am sorry for you Brits who have to deal with this. It has actually set a bad precedent for future sponsorship negotiations.

    The more I read about this though the less I think this is what is happening. McDonald's has the exclusive rights to sell fries at "The Olympics". This is the actual venues, not the whole of London or England. The 800 "restaurants" affected are vendors at the 40 Olympic sites nationwide. While attending a site if you just have to have fries/ chips by themselves you'll have to get them from McDonald's. Once you leave the site you can go anywhere you want. Seems like a great way to market yourself if you own a place reasonably close to a site.

    I honestly have no issue with this. Every local sporting venue has contracts with food, beer, soda providers and within the venue you can only get that company's product(s).

    Unless I am missing something, and it is possible since I only did a quick Google search, this is not as a big of an issue as it is being made out to be.

    This is the same thing I think. Not sure what the big deal is because any time you attend professional sporting events, you are limited to what they sell. It's like this at most restaurants. They either sell Coke or Pepsi products. You don't get the choice of both. As to those who say people don't watch the Olympics, not true. Lot's of people watch it but they tend to only watch the sports they like. They just don't sit around and watch it all day.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
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    McDonald's (or, rather, fast food in general) will ultimately shorten more lives than cigarettes ever did. One is illegal to purchase for children under a certain age, with strict limits on advertising.

    The other has a clown as it's spokesperson, and promotes "Happy Meals" during kids' themed TV shows.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/03/12/still-a-fast-food-nation-eric-schlosser-reflects-on-10-years-later.html
    "The typical preschooler now sees about three fast-food ads on television every day. The typical teenager sees about five. The endless barrage of ads, toys, contests, and marketing gimmicks has fueled not only fast-food sales, but also a wide range of diet-related illnesses. About two thirds of the adults in the United States are obese or overweight. The obesity rate among preschoolers has doubled in the past 30 years. The rate among children aged 6 to 11 has tripled. And by some odd coincidence, the annual cost of the nation’s obesity epidemic—about $168 billion, as calculated by researchers at Emory University—is the same as the amount of money Americans spent on fast food in 2011."



    --P
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
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    I don't think it matters. Most people don't even watch the Olympics and don't even know who the sponsors are.
    Really???? LMAO not being funny, but I think you need to recap.

    1 billion people yes 1 billion people, watched the last Olympics in Beijing.

    That is a massive amount of the world's population.

    They may not know who the Sponsors are, buy by God, they sure know what the Olypics are.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    I think some of you may be missing the point. The point that the poster is making is that the citizens now have NO CHOICE in the fries that they eat. Americans, imagine the Olympics coming to your town and all the restaurants in the area are no longer allowed to prepare their own brand of fries. After a long day of watching the Olympics in the Arena, eating McDonalds there because they are the sponsors...you and your friends go to the local restaurant, sit down and and order a nice salmon fillet and fries and the waitress says, "Sorry, you can only buy McDonalds fries during the Olympics. They are across the street, and it costs you $3.00 for a large order." This is what is happening currently. It is not sponsorship, but a monopoly. It is infringement on the rights of the restaurant owners and the citizens of the local area. We (Americans), would never accept such. Then, of course, a McDonalds can be found every three blocks in America so why bother with a restriction here.
    Lol what.
  • Di3012
    Di3012 Posts: 2,250 Member
    Options
    I think some of you may be missing the point. The point that the poster is making is that the citizens now have NO CHOICE in the fries that they eat. Americans, imagine the Olympics coming to your town and all the restaurants in the area are no longer allowed to prepare their own brand of fries. After a long day of watching the Olympics in the Arena, eating McDonalds there because they are the sponsors...you and your friends go to the local restaurant, sit down and and order a nice salmon fillet and fries and the waitress says, "Sorry, you can only buy McDonalds fries during the Olympics. They are across the street, and it costs you $3.00 for a large order." This is what is happening currently. It is not sponsorship, but a monopoly. It is infringement on the rights of the restaurant owners and the citizens of the local area. We (Americans), would never accept such. Then, of course, a McDonalds can be found every three blocks in America so why bother with a restriction here.
    Lol what.

    Dang.

    I gather I am in the weird part of MFP. I could have sworn that this site catered for the whole world and not just the US.

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