Dear Corporate Accountability International,

First, congratulations on the awesome name for your organization. I think you might have just created a new show for CBS. 'CAI: Boston.' From the creators of CSI. A team of social do-gooders investigate corporations and try to stop evil advertising mascots from taking over the world. New this fall!

I picture Tim Daly and Jennifer Garner in the roles (if they're not available, maybe Dean Cain and Katee Sackhoff?).

I have to tell you though, I'm not at all happy about your attempt to get McDonald's to drop Ronald McDonald from their TV commercials and other ads.

As I've mentioned here several times before, I'm a huge fan of TV commercials, especially the history and what goes on behind the scenes of campaigns and slogans (I think it's 60% why Mad Men is one of my favorite shows). Advertising Week wants you to vote in their poll to name the best advertising icons of all-time and the best slogans of all-time. This poll happens every year, and you can see past winners who are now in the Walk of Fame at the link above.

This year the choices include Ronald McDonald (as well as the slogan "I'm Lovin' It"), that creepy Burger King guy, the Maytag repairman, Snap, Crackle, and Pop, "Got Milk" and more.

I like seeing commercials from overseas. They aren't usually something we'll see on American television, so it's good that the web can fulfill all of our foreign advertising needs. This European McDonald's ad shows a nightmarish world where two guys share one nose. I can't imagine something that two guys could share that would be so creepy and uncomfortable.

OK, I can imagine one thing.

[via AdFreak]

Long before he was wishing 100 year-old people a Happy Birthday on Today, Willard Scott was a clown. A pathetic, oddly dressed clown.

After the jump is the very first commercial that McDonald's ran featuring Ronald McDonald. Sure, it's easy to dismiss the low-budget look of this ad because of the time it was created, the bad special effects, and the knowledge that later the character would be refined and would look a lot different (and better). But then you look closely and you see that the guy has a freakin' paper cup on his nose. It's like the last minute Halloween costume a father would put together to entertain his kids. He and the other parents think it's hilarious, but the kids are thinking "what's wrong with daddy?"

And does he really need two trays of food, one on his waist and one on his head?

Still, it's a cool look at a different TV era, and it's great to see how McDonald's television advertising started out. Hey, it's better than the "I'm Lovin' It" campaign.