Activism and PR

So today the very important topic of activism and PR was discussed using a very effective example the documentary "Super Size Me." In 2004 the documentary film both directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food. The documentary was sparked on the back of two teenage girls who sued the fast food giants and blamed them for their obesity. So Spurlock went a little deeper into the fast food giant to see how unhealthy it was by using himself as a guinea pig.

So how does this relate to PR? In this case Spurlock represents many many NGO's such as Greenpeace and Save the Children. NGO's need healthy relationships with the public to meet their goals. Foundations and charities use PR campaigns to raise funds and use standard lobbying techniques in regards to government.

Many NGO's use different tactics to protest and get their points or word out using PR as the appropriate tool or avenue to get their point across. For years NGO's such as PETA has staged countless PR stunts againts celebrities to support their cause and have used many celebrities to support their cause. But what Spurlock did was fascinating by using himself as the experiment and showing his audience the response that he got from the McDonald's corporation by creating this documentary was pure genius.  At the end of the day what any NGO would like to accomplish is change or rather action that will result in change or action and Spurlock hit it spot on. As a result McDonald's removed and stopped offering the "super size" size from it's menu and actively made healthier options available on its menu.

Here is the opening of the documentary: