An Open Letter to Burger King
The following is written by my wife. She is not actually sending this “letter” to Burger King, but she wanted to write something to post to my blog that described her frustrating experience today. I happen to agree with her 100%.
Dear Burger King:
In my time as a parent, I have seen many promotions tied in with kids’ meals at various fast food restaurants that I was not fond of: SpongeBob, Shrek and Phineas and Ferb, just to name a few. Although I am not a fan of those particular characters and my children do not watch them, at least they are characters/movies/shows that are designed for kids. Your latest kids’ meal tie-in, however, is absolutely absurd: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse…really?!? In what world did a PG-13 movie about vampires and werewolves translate into toys (excuse me, keepsakes and accessories) for kids’ meals?
We got two kids’ meals today for my 7 and 3 year old daughters. One meal had the charm bracelet (a “keepsake for girls”) in it and the other had the UV-reveal wristband (an ”accessory for guys”) in it. I decided to question my 7 year old on her knowledge of vampires and werewolves. I thought of a Backyardigans episode that had both a werewolf and a vampire in it and thought she might know them in that context. She couldn’t remember seeing that episode, so I asked her if she knew what a vampire was. “Yes, it’s sort of like a bat.” I asked her how she knew that. Her answer was, “Max (from Max and Ruby) has a vampire toy.” I asked her if she knew what a werewolf was, and she replied, “No. I know what a wolf is, but not a werewolf.”
I believe that kids’ meals are designed for kids 12 and under. (I find this to be supported by your Club BK, which only allows free BK birthday meals to kids under 13.) So, as a PG-13 movie, the movie is not made for the 12 and under age group. On the official movie site http://www.eclipsethemovie.com/#/Synopsis the synopsis says, “…as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge.” Hmm, yes, that sounds like a wonderful bedtime story. Don’t mistake me as a Twilight hater; I am actually a fan of both the books and the movies. But when I order a KIDS meal, I expect that the accompanying tie-in would at least be age appropriate. There is too much pressure for kids to grow up too soon. There is no reason for your restaurant to add to that pressure.
In conclusion, I would request that you keep your toys for kids’ meals just that- -toys, for kids. My daughter was actually looking forward to seeing which Marmaduke dog she got in her meal today. What a letdown for her to find out that what was in her meal was irrelevant to her.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Mom of Two
You might check out http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/
I had thought there were some rules about advertising PG-13 films but I could not find any. But I did see on the site above that Burger King had Iron Man toys (which was also a PG 13 movie)
(andy here)I forgot that they had Iron Man. I’ll go on record and say that I personally feel that there is no way that you can make Eclipse appropriate for children. Thanks for the site Adam. I’ll check it out and let my wife see it too.
Why wouldn’t she send it to BK?? It’s logical, well-written, and (unfortunately) the only way a company will know if they’re doing something consumers don’t like is to hear from them. Yay Gina! And another thing is it’s civil. Usually complaint letters have a bit of name-calling in them.
On the occasions when we get fast food, my kids know I request that no toys be put in their meals. They would play with them only for a day or 2 & then they’re left on the floor somewhere, usually for me to step on. As for Twilight being the inspiration for these toys, I can’t see how they would be appropriate either.
I’m a huge fan of sending letters. It makes you feel better, and most companies actually appreciate the feedback too! (that’s why they spend so much money on focus groups and inundate us with those pesky surveys all the time…) You should definitely send it.
And I have to agree: by no stretch of the imagination could the Twilight series be considered movies for kids under 12. That’s just ridiculous.