It’s late Friday night, you and your friends are starving so you take a trip through the Ludlow McDonald’s drive-thru. As you look around you can see the Dollar Menu, the limited-time McRib sandwich, and peppermint mocha signs and, wait, what’s that on the wall? The Ludlow Lion with Ronald McDonald surrounded by Big Mac’s and fries saying “I’m Lovin’ it…”
Number 1: What is our high school mascot doing bff-ing it up with Ronald McDonald?
Well, LHS’s newest club, the Art Club was asked by McDonald’s manager to paint a mural on one of the drive-thru walls at the Ludlow McDonald’s.
So it was decided that the Ludlow lion would be painted on that wall with Ronald McDonald. The mighty Ludlow lion isn’t going to be the only thing representing LHS. The club is also painting athletes and students holding McDonald’s products too.
Number 2: This cannot be ethical.
How can you promote that athletes and students at LHS think McDonald’s is a good choice of a balanced meal?
What soccer player goes to McDonald’s and downs a Big Mac, large fry and coke before a game?
No one, because McDonald’s is not the type of food any athlete would be wolfing down before a practice or game (unless they want to get a stomach cramp halfway down the field or become best friends with the trash can).
I mean I have no problem with McDonald’s or their food; the McDouble and I have become good acquaintances. But, showcasing the Ludlow lion and athletes promoting McDonald’s is a whole different thing. Our school mascot shouldn’t be used as an advertising tool.
Some argue that LHS isn’t promoting McDonald’s goods, but just showcasing student work. Obviously we are promoting McDonald’s if our school mascot and “students” are being painted holding McDonald’s products.
How are you going to tell me that that’s not advertising? It clearly is because represented members of LHS are holding McDonald’s food. That is straight up advertising and promoting McDonald’s food; you can’t tell me that it’s not.
Number 3: What is LHS getting out of this anyway?
Yes, our talented art students get to showcase their artistic abilities for thousands of hungry, impatient people who are waiting to devour the delicious taste of McDonald’s food.
The Art Club is just designing a new ad for McDonald’s to use, just like the thousands we see on billboards. Except, this ad will get the “special” attention of people because it has pieces of Ludlow High School in it.
If you see your school mascot on the wall of a McDonald’s with athletes and students your going to look at it with ooo’s and ahh’s and point out to everyone that your school painted it.
That is directly beneficial for McDonald’s because people will think of how nice McDonald’s was for asking art students to show off their talents on the drive-thru wall.
When in reality LHS has become the new ad for the Ludlow McDonald’s, and our school mascot may be now known by young kids as Ronald McDonald’s new best friend.
Who knows what’s next, maybe the lion will make it into the McDonald’s mascot family along with Ronald McDonald and the Hamburglar, or a McDonald’s may inveigle its way into the LHS cafeteria; but for now we can have the grace of seeing a piece of LHS on the drive-thru wall of the Ludlow McDonald’s.
