McDonald’s receives warning from media watchdog for ‘send to friends’ spamming
McDonald’s Happy Meal website
McDonald’s has received a formal warning from Australia’s media watchdog for spamming young customers through its Happy Meal website.
Emails sent using the ‘send to friends’ facility – which promoted games and other features – on HappyMeal.com.au could be sent to friends of users without ensuring the friends’ consent, the Australian Communications and Media Authority ruled.
The messages did not have an unsubscribe facility, as required by the Spam Act, ACMA added.
Since the warning was issued by ACMA, McDonald’s has removed the ‘send to friends’ facility from Happymeal.com.au.
ACMA chairman Chris Chapman said: “This case should alert businesses that they must think carefully before using “friend get friend” marketing. When sending your marketing messages, you must make sure that there is consent from the actual person who is going to receive your message. You can’t just assume consent has been given.’
A McDonald’s spokesman told Mumbrella in a statement: “McDonald’s takes its compliance obligations very seriously and fully respects the finding of the ACMA’s investigation. The ‘send to a friend’ function was removed from the Happy Meal website in February 2012 and McDonald’s has no intention of reinstating the function or any similar functions on its websites.”
Good to see the media ‘watchdog’ getting stuck into the really big issues affecting the world today.
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LOVE THOSE HAPPY MEALS! MMMM YUMMY!
And Gyozas, I love them too!! I’d do some things to a gyoza.
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This is ridiculous. Reminds me of this time I ate heaps of Gyoza, I love those things!
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thats bullplop… the message is technically being sent from the user to their friend. McDonalds is tecnically not sending the email if someone uses a “send to friend” system…
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Pretty major event when you realise McDonald’s was willing to break the law, just to market to children.
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oooh a warning. Macca’s must be shaking in their fries.
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the amounts of competitions i have seen use these same methods is unbelievable.
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My ma and pa never allowed me to have McDonald’s. Eventually when I was old enough, I queued up, bought myself a meal and gave it a go. From memory I think I felt sick?
It is good to prevent the spread of shite isn’t it?
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A digital producer at Macca’s agency is in TROUBLE…..
Seriously, as a producer myself, it’s the digital team who are responsible here – they simply shouldn’t have signed off that functionality.
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How is this different from the ‘Email a Friend’ feature on news websites? (eg: news.com.au, smh.com.au etc ?)
Here’s an example: http://www.smh.com.au/action/e.....id=3899467
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The likes of ACMA, AANA, et al, are seriously dinosaur organsations who struggle to understand contemporary marketing.
It reminds me of the approach of ARIA, APRA and AMCOS, the bodies looking after the recorded music industry, who were equally shithouse at understanding how technology changed their business. They presided over the decline and fall of recorded music. The same will happen in media and advertising.
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Hilarious! We should all be splitting our sides about a Multi National High Fat High Sodium FAst Food Chain breaking laws that relate to marketing to kids… You lot are just so freakin funny! World Class Astro Turfing….
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