I'm not lovin' it
Encyclopedia
"I'm not lovin' it" is a spoof of the McDonald's advertising slogan "I'm lovin' it" used in an advertising campaign launched by vegan advocacy group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
in September 2010 that encourages consumers to adopt a vegetarian diet
in order to avoid the increased health risks of hypertension
, heart attacks
, stroke
s and obesity
associated with the consumption of the high levels of dietary fat, cholesterol
and sodium in McDonald's menu offerings.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit that promotes a strictly vegetarian diet, preventive medicine
, and the end of animal research created the 30-second advertisement which shows a man in a white lab coat consoling a grieiving woman in a morgue as the camera circles around a middle-aged white man draped in a white sheet clutching a partially eaten hamburger in his right hand. As the camera reaches the man's feet protruding from underneath the sheet, the familiar Golden Arches logo is displayed over the unmoving feet and the screen fades to a red background with the catchphrase "I was lovin' it". A narrator says "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian". In a press release associated with the ad, the PCRM stated that "McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain, serves a long list of high-fat, high-cholesterol items and offers almost no healthful choices".
The statement released by the PCRM announced that the advertisement would be broadcast on The Daily Show
and local news broadcasts starting on September 16, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
, a city that the group says has a higher concentration of fast food outlets than other, similarly sized cities. The group highlighted the high levels of fat and sodium in products such as the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal, which contains 61 grams of fat and 1,650 milligrams of sodium. The organization was considering plans to roll out the campaign to Chicago
, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles
. PCRM chose Washington, D.C. as the first city for the campaign as it has the second-highest rate of deaths associated with heart disease, with 1,500 deaths annually attributed to cardiovascular conditions. PCRM plans to lobby Washington mayor Adrian Fenty
to impose a ban on the construction of new fast-food dining establishments in the city.
McDonald's called the ad "outrageous, misleading and unfair" and encouraged "customers to put such outlandish propaganda in perspective, and to make food and lifestyle choices that are right for them". The National Restaurant Association
, an industry business association representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations in the United States, called such ads misleading, saying that they unnecessarily focus on a single item to "distort the reality that the nation's restaurants are serving an increasing array of healthful menu choices".
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages what it describes as "higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research." Its primary...
in September 2010 that encourages consumers to adopt a vegetarian diet
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
in order to avoid the increased health risks of hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, heart attacks
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s and obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
associated with the consumption of the high levels of dietary fat, cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
and sodium in McDonald's menu offerings.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit that promotes a strictly vegetarian diet, preventive medicine
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
, and the end of animal research created the 30-second advertisement which shows a man in a white lab coat consoling a grieiving woman in a morgue as the camera circles around a middle-aged white man draped in a white sheet clutching a partially eaten hamburger in his right hand. As the camera reaches the man's feet protruding from underneath the sheet, the familiar Golden Arches logo is displayed over the unmoving feet and the screen fades to a red background with the catchphrase "I was lovin' it". A narrator says "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian". In a press release associated with the ad, the PCRM stated that "McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain, serves a long list of high-fat, high-cholesterol items and offers almost no healthful choices".
The statement released by the PCRM announced that the advertisement would be broadcast on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
and local news broadcasts starting on September 16, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, a city that the group says has a higher concentration of fast food outlets than other, similarly sized cities. The group highlighted the high levels of fat and sodium in products such as the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal, which contains 61 grams of fat and 1,650 milligrams of sodium. The organization was considering plans to roll out the campaign to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. PCRM chose Washington, D.C. as the first city for the campaign as it has the second-highest rate of deaths associated with heart disease, with 1,500 deaths annually attributed to cardiovascular conditions. PCRM plans to lobby Washington mayor Adrian Fenty
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...
to impose a ban on the construction of new fast-food dining establishments in the city.
McDonald's called the ad "outrageous, misleading and unfair" and encouraged "customers to put such outlandish propaganda in perspective, and to make food and lifestyle choices that are right for them". The National Restaurant Association
National Restaurant Association
thumb|National Restaurant Association logoThe National Restaurant Association is a restaurant industry business association in the United States, representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations. It also operates the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation...
, an industry business association representing more than 380,000 restaurant locations in the United States, called such ads misleading, saying that they unnecessarily focus on a single item to "distort the reality that the nation's restaurants are serving an increasing array of healthful menu choices".