All Good Partnerships Come to an End

David Card | May 08, 2006, 04:55 PM

I'm flabbergasted.

Disney is not renewing its cross-promotional pact with the fast-food giant [McDonald's, that is], ending the arrangement with this summer's release of "Cars" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." One reason, say multiple high-ranking sources within Disney, is that the company — which prides itself on being family friendly — wants to distance itself from fast food and its links to the epidemic of childhood obesity.

I seriously doubt this is actually the work of Steve Jobs, but if it is, fire his butt.

Disney declined to discuss the breakup. But in a conference call last year, Pixar Animation Studios chief Steve Jobs — who is now Disney's largest shareholder in the wake of Disney's recent purchase of Pixar — signaled his ambivalence about using characters to sell fast food while promoting a film.

"There is value" in fast-food tie-ins, Jobs said then. "But there are also some concerns, as our society becomes more conscious of some of the implications of fast food."