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Ronald
McDonald
takes to
Twitter,
gets new
outfit
as
McDonald's
puts
focus
back on
clown
By
Candice
Choi,
AP Food
Industry
Writer
NEW YORK
- Ronald
McDonald
has a
new
look,
and he's
ready
for a
selfie.
McDonald's
said
Wednesday
its
famous
spokesclown
will
take an
active
role on
social
media
for the
first
time,
using
the
hashtag
#ronaldmcdonald.
The move
marks a
turnaround
from
recent
years,
when the
red-haired
mascot
faded to
the
background
as
McDonald's
came
under
criticism
for
using
him to
market
to
children.
But the
world's
biggest
hamburger
chain
seems
ready to
give its
clown a
higher-profile
role as
it works
to boost
weak
sales.
The
company
says
Ronald
McDonald
won't
have his
own
Twitter
handle,
but that
it will
post
photos
and
videos
of him
on its
existing
social
media
accounts.
The
clown,
known
for his
painted-on
smile
and
baggy
yellow
jumper,
will
also
appear
in TV
ads
later
this
year
wearing
new
clothes,
including
cargo
pants
and a
vest.
Other
photos
of him
posted
by
McDonald's
on
Wednesday
showed
him
wearing
a red
sports
coat
over the
cropped
pants.
"His
iconic
big red
shoes
will
remain
the
same,"
McDonald's
said in
a
statement.
"Selfies
... here
I come!
It's a
big
world
and now,
wherever
I go and
whatever
I do ...
I'm
ready to
show how
fun can
make
great
things
happen,"
McDonald's
quoted
the
fictional
clown as
saying.
Ronald's
promotion
comes as
McDonald's
looks to
reset
its
business.
The
company,
based in
Oak
Brook,
Ill., is
hoping
to fix
slowness
and
inaccuracies
in
orders
and is
emphasizing
its most
popular
items in
marketing,
including
the Big
Mac and
french
fries.
Ronald
McDonald,
first
played
by
longtime
TV
weatherman
Willard
Scott,
made his
debut in
1963 and
has
played a
major
role in
making
McDonald's
the
dominant
player
among
kids in
the
fast-food
industry.
The
company
even
named
him its
"chief
happiness
officer"
in 2003.
A group
called
Corporate
Accountability
International
in
recent
years
has
pressed
McDonald's
to
retire
the
clown
and stop
marketing
its food
to
children.
McDonald's
has
defended
its
mascot
as "a
force of
good."
At its
annual
shareholder
meeting
last
year,
CEO Don
Thompson
noted
the
company
hasn't
been
using
the
clown
the way
it used
to, but
stood by
the
mascot.
"Ronald
is not a
bad guy
— he's
about
fun,
he's a
clown.
So I'd
ask all
you to
let your
kids
have fun
too,"
Thompson
said.
On
Wednesday,
the
company
said
Ronald
"represents
the
magic
and
happiness"
of
McDonald's.
After
staying
relatively
quiet in
recent
years,
the
clown
did make
an
appearance
of sorts
online
recently
after
Taco
Bell ran
TV ads
featuring
real-life
Ronald
McDonalds
professing
their
love for
its
breakfast.
McDonald's
subsequently
tweeted
a photo
of the
clown
kneeling
down to
pet a
Chihuahua.
The
image
was a
reference
to Taco
Bell's
retired
mascot
and
received
around
3,000
retweets.
McDonald's
said
Franchise
owners
around
the
world
will be
able to
use new
designs
incorporating
the
revamped
Ronald
over the
next few
years.
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