In response to a new McDonalds radio commercial on the east coast, Melanie Marks CEO of Shark Trust Wines sent the following email to McD's corporate headquarters this week.Having personally known Melanie for over 6 years and her absolute dedication to shark conservation issues we'll agree with her take on this commercial having not yet heard it for ourselves. Sometimes you just have to act:
I recently heard a radio commercial for McDonald's that referenced the great white shark. More specifically, it promoted McDonald's at the expense of the great white. Sickened would not begin to describe how I felt about McDonald's when I heard this commercial.
The great white shark is on the endangered species list. It's population has declined by roughly 80% in the last 15 years and is expected to become extinct within the next several decades unless something is done to reverse this trend. In light of that, how can McDonald's approve an ad that contributes to the negative, and incorrect, image of this animal. Clearly, someone did not do their homework! A great leader once said, if you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem.
I request that you immediately remove these extremely ignorant and inflammatory commercials from the air. I am prepared to organize a boycott of McDonald's if you do not do so immediately. And, to give you a sense of the power behind this statement, 30 million viewers tuned into Discovery Channel's Shark Week last year because they are interested in the fate of the shark.
I am an active voice in the ocean conservation community and I am not opposed to using that voice to send a message to McDonald's that your advertising campaign is malicious and contributing to the extinction of one of the great ocean animals.
I am an active voice in the ocean conservation community and I am not opposed to using that voice to send a message to McDonald's that your advertising campaign is malicious and contributing to the extinction of one of the great ocean animals.
I request that you respond to my request within 5 business days, or I will have no choice but to begin a PR campaign against McDonald's for your slander of an endangered animal.
Regards,
3 comments:
Hi i am a diver and found some humor in this ad. i dont think that the portrail of this species as a preadator is wrong. not talking about something won't make it go away. sharks are scavengers and preadators that is their role in nature and an important one at that. this ad simply stated that they are preadators and very good at what they do i see that as a complinent to these magnificent creatures.
I am deeply interested in hearing such a distasteful add... does someone have a link?
We'll have to defer to Melanie on this one having not heard the ad ourselves. As a serious advocate for sharks for the past 7 years we have never known her to blow up an issue for the sake of it.
In this game you pick your battles.
Cannot wait to hear it though.
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