NJ Mayor Threatens Boycott of
McDonald's Over Spanish Billboard
Mayor Steve Lonegan
(R) of Bogota, New Jersey is calling for a boycott of McDonald's if the
fast-food chain does not take down a Spanish-language billboard advertising
iced coffee within his city limits. In an interview on Fox News, Mayor Lonegan
stated that 20% of his community speaks Spanish and that such a billboard
divided his community, thus he insisted on its removal.
Should a mayor dictate business activity within the
city limits? City councils and mayors do it daily.
New Jersey area radio station
WCBS 880
states "An executive for billboard company CBS Outdoor tells The Record of
Bergen County the advertising is credible, appropriate and in good taste. Jodi
Senese says the ad is not coming down." The site offers the following
disclaimer: "Both CBS Outdoor and WCBS-AM are owned by the CBS Corporation."
A search of the McDonalds.com web site as of July 16,
2006 revealed no statements by McDonald's regarding this matter. It is
important to note that such advertisements are handled by advertising agencies
and are placed based upon demographic and other factors. While these matters
are not necessarily under the direct control of McDonalds, companies such as
McDonalds will always retain veto power over all advertisements placed in their
name. So, although McDonald's may wish to stay out of such a controversy in
fear of copy-cat incidents happening across the country, McDonalds is
appearently referring people to the ad agency for comment to separate
themselves from the conflict. Is that the best approach? You decide.
Boycott Watch will follow this story and post updates
as available. |
|
|
| Advertisement: |
 |
|
|
