Talk:Ronald McDonald/Archive 2

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald

I grew up in the Washington, D.C., area and remember seeing Willard Scott playing the role of Ronald McDonald in T.V. ads. I had also remembered him as having played Bozo a few years earlier, so it was no surprise that he was now playing another clown. I knew that Bozo was a national phenomenon played by a different personality in each T.V. market where the show aired, so I figured Ronald McDonald was done the same way.

In 1986, I read newspaper articles marking the 20th anniversary of Ronald McDonald. This surprised me because I knew that I had seen the ads featuring Willard Scott before 1966. A few years later, I checked out a book Willard (anyone who grew up watching him is on a first name basis with him) had written from a local library, and I learned that he had pioneered the concept in the D.C. area before it went national. So, 1986 as the 20th anniversary was proper with regard to the national campaign.

In the late 1990s, someone in California told me that the Willard Scott story was not true and that Ronald McDonald originated in Los Angeles. I thought this person did not have the correct facts, but I see from this article that there may be a basis of truth in what this person told me. RSLitman 01:15, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

George Voorhees and Terry Teene created: the character, the name (the Valley News and Green Sheet picture caption calls the character "Ronald Mcdonald" -- emphasis mine, small 'd'), the original costume, and the original makeup (much closer to the modern version than Willard Scotts face, which was like his Bozo face) of the character. Prior to McDonald's contacting Willard Scott. Willard Scott claimed in his book to have invented Ronald MacDonald. He may very well believe that he did, however his costume in the 3 tv commercials (his only appearances as RM, apparently) are substantially similar to the original costume -- French fry bag pockets on the front at hip level/food tray hat/paper cup nose.

Willard Scott just put on a costume that was provided to him, made his face up like he did as Bozo and portrayed the already-created character. The costume that Willard Scott wore was presumably created using photos of the original Voorhees/Teene character, as the costume was not identical but only similar. There is no evidence that Terry Teene and George Voorhees ever met Willard Scott. There is no comment by Willard Scott which mentions the other two creators. Both Teene and Voorhees have made statements (In Cavalcade of Clowns and Calliope) that they created the character together. Neither was paid for the character, but only for their performances, at 'standard clown rates' of the time.

McDonalds does not acknowlege their claim. The Valley News and Green Sheet is a contemporaneous record which establishes that the character was played by George Voorhees prior to McDonalds having contacted Willard Scott. User:Pedant (talk) 20:06, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

this article needs major cleanup

The article makes mention of last names in odd places with no prior reference to them. "McDonald's does not mention Voorhees or claim that Willard Scott "created Ronald" in their statement:" At this point in the article who is Voorhees? The entire page reads as if it's been pieced together, and from reading of the several vandalism recoveries that have occurred I'm pretty sure along the way the article got a bit chopped up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.226.57.27 (talk) 22:45, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Subtle Vandalism / Spam, unfollowed lead, or what?

I believe the following line is a piece of very subtle vandalism / spam or whatever you may call it, it just strikes me as out of place:
"Due to the controversy over fast food, critics have likened McDonald to Joe Camel, the former mascot of Camel cigarettes.[2]"
The line doesn't follow the tempo of the article, the reference attached to it goes to a very poorly formatted webpage (broken character escapes all over (which can be, but is not always, an indication of a content scrape from another source), and overly large text) and Critics does not equal Critic. It either needs to be followed up and expanded upon, moved, or removed because there's nothing else in the article about critics.--68.237.239.86 (talk) 01:27, 16 December 2007 (UTC)A Passing Visitor

I agree. I wouldn't call it vandalism or spam though. I removed it from the article. If anyone disagrees, feel free to discuss. ~a (user • talk • contribs) 02:52, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

This article is biased.

Well. I suggest the McDonald's Coproration wrote this article. Or Ronald himself!

Seriously, I've rarely read such a biased text on Wikipedia. Why does nobody mention all the criticism all around the world? "Ronald" isn't banned in Sweden for no reason! (But for manipulation of children!)

For God's sake, this article has to be revisited by people who are not employed by the McDonald's Corporation.

I will add a few things as soon as I have time.

Well, Wikipedia fellows, think about it. And have a nice day :D —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.79.224.208 (talk • contribs) 16:42, 24 January 2008

Firstly, don't jump to the conclusion that the editors of this article work for McDonald's. I, for one, do not work for McDonald's. Secondly, do you have any specific information to add to the article? You mention Ronald isn't banned in Sweden? Are you saying that he is banned in Sweden? Do you have a reputable source that can verify that? Thanks. ~a (user • talk • contribs) 02:26, 3 February 2008 (UTC)