Does McDonald’s have plans for Charles Ramsey?

The company is reaching out to the Ohio man after he mentioned the company repeatedly in media interviews.

Charles Ramsey is a media star this week after his heroic role in the rescue of
three women who spent nearly a decade in captivity in a Cleveland home. He’s
given several interviews about the incident, and he talks about McDonald’s in many of them.

He even mentioned McDonald’s in his 911 call to police after
responding to Amanda Berry’s cries for help from the house. And the company has
taken notice, reaching out to Ramsey on Twitter.

“We salute the courage of Ohio kidnap victims & respect their
privacy,” the company said. “Way to go Charles Ramsey — we’ll be in
touch.” The statement was retweeted more than 10,000 times.

With that message, McDonald’s has thrust itself into the widening
spotlight around Ramsey, a restaurant dishwasher who rocketed to fame because of
the rescue but perhaps more so because of the engaging, moving and often
humorous ways he has recounted the event.

McDonald’s has become part of the story, and
now it’s being criticized for crossing the line. “Even when you account for what
might be noble intentions on the part of McDonald’s, the tweet still doubles as
an ad,” Seamus McKiernan writes in The Huffington Post. He added that McDonald’s seems
to be praising Ramsey as much for his good deed as for mentioning the company
repeatedly.

“We should acknowledge that the
McDonald’s tweet is inappropriate at best and, at worst, it capitalizes on the
sensation of a tragic story,” McKiernan wrote.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman added some perspective in an interview with The Associated Press. “This is a very
tragic situation and we can’t lose sight of that,” said Danya Proud. She said
the company wanted to speak to Ramsey directly and not through the media.

Some Twitter observers were less critical.
Since McDonald’s and Ramsey now have a mutual love for each other, they said,
Ramsey should at least be getting free Big Macs for life.

“Charles Ramsey eats McDonald’s hamburgers and saved 3 damsels
from distress,” one Twitter user wrote. “He’s the definition of an American
hero.”

“How many people are eating
McDonald’s today in honor of Charles Ramsey?” another asked.

Perhaps this Twitter user said it best: “McDonald’s PR was great in congratulating
Charles Ramsey, however if they use it as advertising gain of any kind
#notcool.”