This Olympics, McDonald’s claims the word “burger,” forcing native pavilion to rewrite its menu
Olympic attendees stopping in at the Four Host First Nations pavilion in Vancouver this weekend should look for “sliders” or “bannockwiches” (bison patties with wild mushrooms and Saltspring goat cheese between bannock rounds)—just not burgers. The organizing committee, VANOC, has decided to eliminate the word “burger” from the FHFN pavilion at the behest of McDonald’s, a major sponsor of the Games. Bill Cooper, VANOC’s head of commercial rights management, told the National Post that “there are a number of guidelines…at all designated 2010 Games celebration sites, of which the FHFN pavilion is one.” The rules forbid “certain brands or words that create special associations with our sponsors and their products.” The guidelines are enforced to protect sponsors’ “significant commitment and investment.”
The Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, who legally share a portion of Olympic territory, agreed to abide by all Olympic rules in a general protocol agreement signed in 2004. This is “the first time in history that indigenous peoples have been recognized by the IOC as official partners in the hosting of a Games,” said an FHFN spokesperson. Such agreements have never exactly been sacrosanct, but the native group agreed to the request from McDonald’s without complaint.
• Olympic chef renames his ‘bison burgers’ after McDonald’s objects [National Post]
MacDonalds is again being petty and using it’s money to get it’s own way. Those with any hint of selectivity in what they eat would not compare what Big Mac offers to a real “burger”.
I can understand the acquiescence of the first nations in agreeing to this as it is the only way to avoid an expensive and unproductive legal battle with the “fast fill” behemoth. Call it what you like guys I will never darken the doors of the fallen arches.
Ridiculous. A Big Mac is a burger? Please. Nothing McRotten sells can be described as a burger.
I hope I’m not sued by McDonald’s for not putting TM or copy-right symbol next to Big Mac. Oh! I did it again.