More McDirt
McDonalds has been having a pretty rough time of it over the last couple of months.

In July it was announced that a group of overweight Americans are suing the company – accusing them of knowingly serving meals that cause obesity and disease. The lawsuit claims that McDonalds, along with a swathe of other fast-food outlets, misled customers by enticing them with greasy, salty and sugary food.

The company hit the news again in August over its controversial partnership with the UN children’s health and welfare charity Unicef. The charity stands to make millions by lending both its name and resources to the McDonalds’ World Children’s Day event on 20th November. Public health specialists across the world have argued that the partnership could damage the credibility of its work on child health, nutrition and education, particularly in the developing world. In response to a barrage of complaints, Unicef’s New York office stated that the partnership did not mean that Unicef endorsed McDonalds or its products – of course.
And just to make sure that no-one’s sensibilities are left unoffended, McDonalds have brought out a fantastic new product – the McAfrica burger. The launch of the burger in Norway had the Norwegian aid agencies up in arms. “It’s inappropriate and distasteful to launch a hamburger called McAfrica when large portions of Southern Africa are on the brink of starvation” argued Linn Aas-Hansen from Norwegian Church Aid. In response to complaints, McDonald’s have agreed to place collection boxes for Africa in the participating stores while the promotion lasts – how sensitive of them!

Absolut Bastards
In 2001, Vin & Sprit, makers of Absolut Vodka, launched lawsuits against Bo Enfridsson and Tina Hansen in the United States and the UK over the name of their small Sydney- based swimwear making business, Absolut Beach, claiming total rights over the name ‘Absolut’, including trademarks and domain names. Absolut Beach collapsed on June 8th after spending more than $200,000 on legal fees. The court action continued however and, unable to afford representation, Bo and Tina lost under default judgements awarded in favour of Vin & Sprit. In October, the High Court ordered Absolut Beach to take its name off the companies’ register and give up its internet domain names.

In the United States, the District Court for Virginia found against Absolut Beach on several charges, including: trademark infringement - for selling its products to a US customer over the Internet, cybersquatting, and unjustly profiting from Absolut Vodka’s fame. Bo and Tina maintain their innocence, pointing out that Absolut is a generic word in several Scandinavian languages. Vin & Spirit may yet pursue claims for damages.