Not Alone slamming McDonalds for parody

There are few guilty pleasures I have, or should I say had, because one of them will no longer taste as good in my mouth. The McDonalds ad for Big Mac has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

"You're not alone" is the message I have been giving to veterans when they suffer after combat. It is a message most Vietnam veterans didn't hear until the last decade with the Internet and even now. many still have not heard it is not their fault. It is the message I give to families falling apart because they feel alone with what is happening in their homes. I give it to grieving parents when they have to bury their sons and daughters after they came home from combat but couldn't survive here.

To read those words attached to Big Mac is something my stomach just can't deal with.

McDonald's pulls regional ad parody of mental illness
Bruce Horovitz
USA TODAY
April 11, 2013



McDonald's has killed a regional ad that seems to poke fun at mental illness, but some critics say the fast-food chain may not be doing enough.

McDonald's is not lovin' it.

Following consumer complaints, a regional ad for its Big Mac that parodies mental illness -- featuring a familiar photo of a woman who appears to be crying with her head in her hand -- has been yanked by the fast-food giant from Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority subway trains. The headline in the ad states: "You're not alone." But the small print underneath says, "Millions of people love the Big Mac."

Worst of all: The ad includes a toll-free phone number that connects consumers to McDonald's customer satisfaction line. A recording asks consumers if they want to share an "experience" that they had at a McDonald's restaurant.

"The worst possible situation is if someone in an emotional crisis were to see that image and call that number," says Bob Carolla, spokesman for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "It would be a cruel mistake."
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