|
|
We are working in many ways to inspire and help people find realistic, fun ways to incorporate fitness into their everyday lives.
Support for grassroots sports. For many years, this has been one of the ways McDonald’s owner/operators and company-operated restaurants around the world give back to their local communities.
In addition to many of the local efforts, McDonald's has also been encouraging people to integrate fitness into their lives through national and worldwide efforts. |
|
 McDonald’s All-American Girls’ Basketball Game, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
McDonald's developed the Player Escort Program that allowed children from around the world to walk on to the pitch with their favorite soccer player at the 2006 World Cup. This effort will be continued in 2008 at the Olympics in an effort to give children the chance to be part of the the Olympic Champion Kids Program, and allow children to walk on to the field with Olympic Athletes.
Building on our Olympic Sponsorship. McDonald’s has a long heritage of supporting the Olympic Games, dating back to 1968, when we airlifted hamburgers to the U.S. team after they expressed a hankering for our food. We are using our sponsorship of the Olympic Games and our relationships with the International Olympic Committee, Olympic athletes, and aspiring contenders around the world to inspire physical fitness and regular physical activity.
We are also continuing our role as the exclusive worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Day Run. This annual event commemorates the founding of the Olympic Movement and promotes participation in sports through worldwide local races.
Continuing Other Major Sports Sponsorships. As sponsor of championship football (soccer) events such as the FIFA World Cup™ and UEFA EURO™, we help bring the inspiration of world-class sport to the global stage. We have initiated Player Escort Programs that give children an opportunity to escort some of the best and most popular players onto the pitch, or field, for each match.
Promoting walking as an entry point to physical fitness. In 2004, our U.S. restaurants offered special adult Happy Meals, including Stepometers™—small step counters that can help motivate users to increase their daily walking. Similar promotions have been offered in several of our markets in Europe and Latin America. In 2004, approximately 30 million Stepometers were given to customers as part of promotional Go Active! Adult Happy Meals.
Noted physiologist and personal trainer Bob Greene is working with the U.S. business on a multi-dimensional program to encourage regular walking. This builds on a program launched in Spring 2004, when Greene walked and biked across the U.S., leading walks and offering balanced, active lifestyles tips to thousands of individuals. He has since visited more than a dozen additional communities. Combining charity with physical fitness, McDonald’s Japan sponsored a Charity Walkathon to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Engaging Ronald McDonald as our physical activity ambassador. In 2003, we premiered a new Ronald McDonald show—Get Moving with Ronald McDonald—to help provide motivation for starting and maintaining a more physically active lifestyle. Ronald McDonald is now a central figure in the unique fun communications of our global energy balance awareness campaign. |
|
|
|
|
|
Printer-Friendly
