EXCLUSIVE
Small Mac and skinny fries
FULL NEWS INDEX
By CLODAGH HARTLEY
McDONALD’S has been accused of super-sized hypocrisy after banning fat people from new TV ads.
In a leaked memo, the casting company providing actors was told to ensure they were all were small fry.
The importance of having no fat people was even outlined in capital letters.
It read: “Because this is McDonald’s, it is important that all artists submitted to us are NOT FAT OR OVERWEIGHT in any way.”
Capataz Casting yesterday held auditions in Central London for the advert, in which a “dull, regular guy” turns into a superhero.
Boss Simon Allen told staff: “He should be skinny and geeky and must not be fat or chubby in any way.”
Reality ... tubby child chows down
Yesterday Mr Allen told The Sun: “It is a healthy body image that must be projected.”
But one actor said: “It smacks of hypocrisy by a firm whose products have been proven to make people overweight.”
The memo also outlines other characters in the ad, emphasising that each one “MUST NOT BE FAT”.
Another actor, who asked not to be named, said: “I think it’s disgusting to be ‘fattist’, especially when you consider the fattening food McDonald’s sell.”
A spokeswoman for McDonald’s — whose logo we’ve slimmed down above — insisted their original instructions had been changed.
She said: “We are shocked that the brief has appeared embellished in this completely inappropriate way and are investigating.
“We can only thank the Sun for bringing this to our attention"
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