McDonald’s Pounded Over ‘Bob’ Menu Advert

SkyNews © Sky News 2010

A new advert for McDonald’s has come under fire over its inaccurate use of the English language.
The advert, which promotes the Pound Saver Menu, begins “the pound, also known as a bob”, a statement which, strictly speaking, is not true. Technically, a bob is a term for a shilling, or five pence, and of far less value than a pound.

One Quid

The American fast food giant’s blunder has stirred up some incensed online debate about English currency slang, blaming executives in the US for not properly researching the UK market before broadcasting the advert.

One consumer posted: “I suspect the nearest it got to the UK before transmission was when it was dreamed up in an English themed pub in Hollywood.”
Plain English Campaign spokeswoman Marie Clair sympathised with irate members of the public.

“It just doesn’t work for me, a bob certainly isn’t anything like a pound,” she told Sky News Online.
“This terminology is all very confusing, it would be great if we could have someone who could just give us clarity for lunch.”

Some customers asked McDonald’s to either correct or withdraw the advert, or allow them to purchase items on the Saver Menu for a true bob, or five pence. McDonald’s has responded to complaints with an appeal to the ever-changing English language.

One Bob

Their spokesperson has posted: “Although a ‘bob’ was formerly used as a slang term for the shilling until the introduction of decimalisation in 1971, research has shown it is now more commonly used as slang for a pound or money in general.

“As with many words in the English language, the technical meaning of words can change over time and although the word remains in use, what it signifies may develop into something else.”