McDonald's 'Scary' New Mascot Sets Off Social Media Backlash

The last thing McDonald’s MCD needed was social media backlash, but that’s what’s been happening since the company introduced it’s new, “Happy,” mascot Monday.

Twitter TWTR and Facebook FB comments have ranged from statements like “Are you out of your mind?” to “It’s not fun or cute. It’s creepy.”

Say hello to our newest friend, Happy! http://t.co/CuR3hU8Chj #HappyMeal pic.twitter.com/xgluLaHfcY

— McDonald's (@McDonalds) May 19, 2014

In the press release accompanying the Twitter post above, McDonald’s said, “McDonald’s today introduced “Happy,” a new animated Happy Meal character that brings fun and excitement to kids’ meals while also serving as an ambassador for balanced and wholesome eating.”

A.V. Club had a slightly different take saying, “Happy will terrify children into never eating McDonald’s again.”

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“Happy” was first launched in France in 2009, then later introduced in Latin America. According to the press release, “‘Happy’ is about bringing more fun and excitement to kids’ meals, including eating wholesome food choices like low-fat yogurt.”

So far, however, the public seemed more interested in comparisons with “things that go bump in the night” than good nutrition.

. @McDonalds this looks like the monster that killed my uncle

— steev (@Naive_Steve) May 19, 2014

For McDonald’s, all the negative comments have produced one thing – publicity. Quoting Oscar Wilde, The Wall Street Journal noted, “There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

By Tuesday morning, the newspaper said, at least 20 major news outlets were reporting on the “Happy” premier – albeit mostly featuring the word “terror” or some variation in the headlines.

Some peopled online opined that McDonald’s cooked up the controversy on purpose.

“I kind of feel like the new McDonald happy meal mascot is a viral marketing stunt and not a thing that McDonald’s thinks is good, said one Twitter poster.

The company has wanted to attract more families with young children following a NPD Group report that restaurant visits by families that included children under the age of 13 have been on the decline since 2008.

McDonald’s shares closed down $1.05 or a little more than one percent Monday at $102.09.

At the time of this writing, Jim Probasco had no position in any mentioned securities.