UFC-Que Choisir goes to war with McDonald's.
The consumer association announced on Wednesday that it is filing a complaint against the fast food giant for “deceptive commercial practices”.
The UFC considers that the brand does not respect the rules of advertising aimed at minors.
It particularly involves videos on social networks.
In several of them, the American company clearly stages a partnership with young internet stars.
In this video with Swan and Neo, two young influencers who are very famous among young people, a kind of McDonald's restaurant is opened in a family home.
Decoration, toys, packaging, names, menus, order terminals: everything is done to simulate a fake McDonald's on a reduced scale.
At no time is there any mention of any official partnership.
More than 11 million people have viewed this video on YouTube, making it one of the most watched on the channel of these young influencers.
In Europe, the fast food giant claims to be virtuous
The consumer association recalls that "to conceal the advertising nature of a message, thus letting the community of an influencer believe in disinterested advice, is a deceptive commercial practice punishable".
For McDonald's, this is an "abusive complaint, intended for the media, which absolutely does not reflect the nature of (its) practices," he said in a reaction sent to AFP.
The group indicates that it is considering filing a “malicious prosecution” complaint.
Que Choix deplores, however, at the same time, that McDonald's is trying to present itself as virtuous with its participation in the European “Eu pledge” program.
Members agree not to advertise food and drink in programs or media aimed at children.
The UFC denounces the legislative vagueness surrounding social networks and therefore the loophole in which some advertisers can engage.
