REUTERS/Mike Blake
Finnish food activists don’t mess around.
A group of anti-McDonald’s extremists have chosen terrorist-like tactics in order to get their message across. First they kidnapped a statue of the fast food franchise’s iconic figure, Ronald McDonald.
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They then filmed ransom YouTube videos, in an apparent al-Qaeda imitation, complete with black hoods. Calling themselves the Food Liberation Army, the video shows the captors asking questions (in Finnish, though English subtitles appear on the bottom of the screen) such as “Why are you not open about the manufacturing process, raw materials and additives used in your products? What are you afraid of?”
Demanding answers, the group gave McDonald’s a deadline to respond, after which they said that Ronald would be executed by guillotine. The Consumerist reports that two members of the group were arrested and the statue was rescued before the execution could take place but the remaining members still beheaded a replica.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PVyrG4MTGo&w=450]
Scary! McDonald’s spokespeople issued a statement saying, “McDonald’s is always available to engage in constructive conversations with our customers, stakeholders and the media. This stunt is in very poor taste.”
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Clearly, the FLA was looking for a dramatic way to get their (valid) questions across. But we have to agree with McDonald’s on one thing–it’s hard to get past the distastefulness of the video. (via The Consumerist)