Ronald McDonald through the years

This undated image provided by McDonald's on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 shows the character Ronald McDonald with updated clothing. On Wednesday, the company said the mascot will take an active role on social media for the first time. The move marks a turnaround from recent years, when he faded to the background as McDonaldÃ?s came under criticism for using him to market to children. But the worldÃ?s biggest hamburger chain seems ready to give its clown a higher-profile role as it works to boost weak sales. (AP Photo/McDonald's) ORG XMIT: NY118

epa04164473 A 'Ronald McDonald' figure sits on a bench outside the newly opened, McDonald's first ever vegetarian-only restaurant near the Golden Temple (not pictured), the holiest of Sikh shrines in Amritsar, India, 12 April 2014. According to news reports, the McDonald's fast food restaurant in Amritsar solely offers vegetarian food in respect of the sanctity of the Sikh's holy city of Amritsar and area near the holiest Sikh shrine. EPA/RAMINDER PAL SINGH ORG XMIT: AMR122

Ronald McDonald on opening day of the first McDonald's in Vietnam, February 8, 2014. Photo by Thomas Maresca [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

Feb 11, 2014; Krasnaya Polyana, RUSSIA; Ronald McDonald at the training run for men's skeleton during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Sanki Sliding Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-174284 ORIG FILE ID: 20140211_ajl_aj6_216.JPG

11/28/13 10:59:11 AM -- New York, NY, U.S.A -- 87th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- Ronald McDonald Photo by Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Staff ORG XMIT: RD 130440 MACYS PARADE 11/28/2013 (Via OlyDrop)

RONALDMCDONALD (EXCLUSIVE. Must run Friday, April 1.) Ronald McDonald is alive, well and raising eyebrows in a new TV campaign that asks kids to go to his website and create photos or videos with him. In a nation where kid-targeted fast food marketing has been pegged as one cause of childhood obesity, there has been much media speculation about the worldís most famous spokesclown disappearing from McDonaldís advertising. Far from it. Ronald McDonald never did get nixed. And in the two new ads, heís dancing, playing soccer, shooting hoops -- and nudging kids to visit his website and download photos and videos to share with friends. ìParents are going crazy trying to deal with the internet and social networking with their kids,î says ad psychologist Carol Moog. ìWhy would I want my kid to do this?î But McDonaldís global marketing chief Dean Barrett says McDonaldís is simply doing what any smart marketer must do. ìKids today live in a digital world,î he says. ìYou have to speak to kids in a digital language to connect.î [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

A combo picture taken in Sofia, on February 23, 2014 (top) on August 21, 2013 (second from top), on June 17, 2011 (center) and March 15, 2012 shows the figures of Soviet soldiers at the base of the Soviet Army monument, painted by an unknown artist and the same monument after it was cleaned. The main Soviet army monument in Bulgaria's capital Sofia received a pro-Ukraine makeover Sunday morning as massive pro-European protests in the former Soviet country turned deadly in the past week. The figures have been painted to resemble U.S. comic book heroes and characters from popular culture like Santa Claus and Ronald McDonald, the mascot of fast-food chain giant McDonald's. An unknown artist painted overnight Wednesday in cheeky pink facelift to decry the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 20-21, 1968. The massive bronze relief sculpture depicting nine Soviet army soldiers was flamboyantly painted pink overnight and adorned with captions "Prague '68" and "Bulgaria apologises." As part of the so-called Warsaw Pact, Bulgarian troops took part in the 1968 Soviet invasion of the former Czechoslovakia that crushed the Prague Spring reformist uprising in the country. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF / NIKOLAY DOYCHINOVDIMITAR DILKOFF,NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images ORIG FILE ID: 527414033

A person dressed as Ronald McDonald welcomes a crowd into the McDonald's Big Mac Museum Restaurant, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, in North Huntingdon, Pa. (AP Photo/The Tribune Review, Sean Stipp) ** PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE OUT, UNIONTOWN OUT PITTSBURGH OUT, HERALD-STANDARD OUT ** ORG XMIT: PAGRE102

Ronald McDonald shares a laugh with disabled and orphaned Chinese children during the opening of the Ronald McDonald House of Charities launch in mainland China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Monday Nov. 20, 2006. The launch coincided with the World Children's day. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel) ORG XMIT: XED101

FILE - In this file photo taken May 18, 2006, Ronald McDonald visits with children at a McDonald's Restaurant in Roswell, N.M. Taco Bell is using real-life people named Ronald McDonald in a marketing campaign to promote its new breakfast menu, a nod to the famous clown known for his bright red hair and a yellow jumpsuit. The chain is hoping to go after McDonaldÃ?s, the No. 1 player in breakfast. (AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Andrew Poertner, File) ORG XMIT: NMROS401

Two unidentified Muslim young girls sit next to a Ronald McDonald doll outside a McDonald's fast food restaurant in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, March 11, 2003. Malaysia, a predominantly moderate Muslim country, has been one of Asia's most outspoken opponents of a U.S.-led strike against Iraq, warning that a war could alienate Islamic nations. (AP Photo/Teh Eng Koon) ORG XMIT: KL101

A still from the "Scared Silly,The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald," is McDonald's firs animated video. --- DATE TAKEN: recd 199 No Byline NoCredit HO - handout ORG XMIT: UT82050

Ronald McDonald, trading his clown suit for business attire, high kicks with the Rockettes during the unveiling of the fast-food chain's new line of adult-oriented food at New York's Radio City Music Hall Thursday, May 9, 1996. In the biggest product launch in company history, McDonald's introduced the Arch Deluxe. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) ORG XMIT: NYR111