mcdonald's olympic media blitz; thoughts on kung fu panda

McDonald's is another company jumping on the Beijing Olympics bandwagon, creating Asian-inspired versions of its food around the world as part of a media blitz for the Games: McDonald's Creates Asian-Inspired Versions of Food as Part of Olympics Blitz.

Of course, they've already kicked things off with a Kung Fu Panda tie-in, featuring this commercial with two kids kung fu fighting over a McNugget. It's kind of stupid. But, you know, I guess kids do that in China. And we all know a Chicken McNugget is worth kung fu fighting for.

Speaking of Kung Fu Panda, they apparently really dig the movie in China. They like it so much, some Chinese artists are actually criticizing their own film industry, calling for fewer government controls on culture, and wondering why China itself was incapable of producing such a film: "Kung Fu Panda" prompts soul-searching in China.

Reading this article actually prompted me to finally bite the bullet and check out Kung Fu Panda this weekend. As you all know, I haven't been too thrilled about this movie, but after all the good stuff I've heard about it, I figured I'd give it a chance. And I'll admit it—I thought it was pretty good. It was silly, but I found myself really enjoying it. Curse you, Dreamworks, for making me laugh at kung fu-kicking animals.