A few days ago, Lou Carlozo over on AOL’s walletpop.com posted a blog about Chicago 19-year-old Lauren McClusky’s tragic error. It seems she had the nerve to call her local fundraiser “McFest” in reference to her name and her original co-chair’s “Mc”name. In 2007 and 2008, the burger kings at McDonalds were either unaware of McFest or unconcerned – even though the concerts raised $30,000 for the local chapter of the Special Olympics. But in 2009 when McClusky filled out the paperwork to protect the McFest name, lawyers came swooping in to stop her, in the name of protecting its “Mc” trademarks (you know, McNuggets, McCafe; not sure about the whole McMansion thing).
So now she’s dealing with our fabulous legal system and spending that hard-earned money on lawyers of her own instead of on the developmentally challenged kids it was meant to help. Oh, by the way, Special Olympics is often supported by McDonalds. Yeah, we’re lovin’ it.
Any claim McDonalds might be making about the need to protect their fragile empire starts to unravel with the help of our pal, Mr. McGoogle. No lawsuits seem to be in the works against Paddy and Molly McFest – the official Irish mascots of the Milwaukee Irish Fest. Or against their Christmas cousin, Nick McFest. A few years ago, McLean High School in McLean, Virginia, cancelled their traditional festival celebrating the arts due to lack of interest. This year, their McFest is back, but no one appears to be serving a subpoena to the teacher’s lounge. Last November, a local single mother’s foundation had their own McFest in Nashville’s McFerrin Park. (Are you seeing the McPattern here?) There’s even a McFest YouTube channel (Currently featuring a snowball fight with a sheep. Seriously.)
It seems to me that all the people in the above paragraph should be arguing with each other, and that McDonald’s – which has nothing registered or in the works with the McFest name – should get back to making their superdelicious special sauce. But mostly I worry that the new generation of philanthropists harnessing the incredible power of online communities are being punished for being passionate. If Lauren McClusky had called her event “American Idol” or “Woodstock”, well, let the lawsuits begin. But she didn’t. She conceived and built a successful event in the name of helping others. A savvier multi-national corporation might have found a way to support and encourage such an achievement.
Lauren McClusky
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Tags: McDonalds, McFest, Special Olympics, walletpop.com
Boycott McDonald’s!! I hope that the news stations start covering this and bring it to National Attention – and McDonald’s gives in to pressure and is forced to pay Lauren’s legal fees and return the money for the Special Olympics.