Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406080078
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The stir caused by the world's largest purveyor of fast food began with a World Cup promotion that featured flags of the 24 competitors in this summer's soccer championship, including that of Saudi Arabia.
The green and white flag contains, in Arabic script, the passage ``There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his Prophet,'' sacred words that Muslims say should not be crumpled up and thrown in the trash.
McDonald's printed 2 million of the bags, intended for takeaway orders of children's Happy Meals at the 520 McDonald's restaurants in Britain.
``It is the declaration of faith which appears on the bag,'' said Iqbal Sacranie of the United Kingdom Action Committee on Islamic Affairs. ``It is normal when people have used the bag they would throw it away. This would be desecration and perhaps Muslims would find it offensive.''
The incident shows the potential pitfalls faced by multinational corporations that don't do their homework before offering products to millions of people from starkly different cultures.
The Saudi ambassador, Dr. Ghazi Algosaibi, promptly expressed his concerns to the McDonald's vice president for marketing, John Hawkes. A spokesman at the Saudi embassy described the communication as ``a very polite letter requesting the withdrawal of the bags,'' but he would not elaborate.
A McDonald's spokesman, Mike Love, acknowledged Tuesday that the promotion was a mistake and blamed it on advice from an outside consulting agency. McDonald's could not immediately say how long it would be before the Saudi flags would stop appearing, however.
``It's not going to happen overnight,'' Love said. Sacranie said he was satisfied with the response, even if McDonald's continues to distribute the bags for a while. He believes McDonald's made an honest error based on bad marketing recommendations.
``The important point is it is a matter of recognition,'' Sacranie said. ``They have understood and responded to the concerns of the Islamic community that this particular scripture is part of the holy Koran. I told them that when we are living in such a truly global age, understanding should be shown by such mega-companies.''
McDonald's said it had been concerned ahead of time about using the Saudi flag and sought advice from the Simon Marketing International consulting agency, which was involved in the World Cup promotion and other McDonald's projects.
``We're looking into what advice was received and from whom,'' Love said.
The general manager of the Simon Marketing office in London, Joe Shields, would not discuss the affair.
Asked if McDonald's was re-evaluating its relationship with Simon Marketing, Love declined comment.
McDonald's is headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill.
by CNB