No fat. No sodium. No Logo?

Naomi Klein must be feeling pretty good about herself right about now. Paul Hawken, too. Now, if we could just get rid of those syndicated Robert Vaughan ads --- "They're represented by the law firm of Sludge, Smarm & Sham? Let's settle this one!" -- well, we'd all be tooting through silk.

Okay, maybe not. Take it away, Guardian:

McDonald's has dropped the famous "golden arches" logo from its British advertising for the first time in what appears to be an extraordinary bid to rebrand as a healthy eating destination.

The chain, criticised by health campaigners but loved by pestering kids for decades, has not yet gone on record about its marketing strategy to shake off its image as the bad guy of modern convenience food.

But a new advertising campaign showing a question mark in its signature canary yellow in place of the ubiquitous arches is the latest in a series of significant changes, including tie-ups with the Vegetarian Society and the introduction of salads to its menus.

The posters show a fresh garden salad with green and red lettuce leaves with a large yellow question mark replacing the golden arches and the slogan "McDonald's. But not as you know it" - a play on Spock's assertion to Captain Kirk in the TV series Star Trek, "It's Life, Jim, but not as we know it".

-SNORT-

The new campaign follows a profit slump at the fast food chain, which has come under increasing pressure in the fight against Britain's child obesity crisis.

Other posters show a pile of empty egg shells stamped "free range", fruit pieces, cups of cappuccino and a bagel smothered in cream cheese, all chosen because they would be less likely to be associated with McDonald's in customers' minds.

The Head-fake School of Branding. Didn't we go through this stateside a few years' back with Fallon's night-clubbing Ronald McDonald to hawk "adult" fare?

To emphasise its healthy menu, the fast food chain is mailing a booklet to 17 million homes containing news about the changes to its menu and special offers to encourage people to eat at McDonald's.

Earlier this month MediaGuardian.co.uk revealed that the Vegetarian Society had agreed to let McDonald's use its seedling logo on certain foods such as garden salads, Quorn Premiere Burger, yoghurt and fruit toast, bagels.

The Vegetarian Society said having its logo in every McDonald's restaurant would help vegetarianism enter the mainstream.

McDonald's pre-tax profits tumbled by nearly three-quarters in the UK last year, falling to £23.6m from £83.8m, the lowest for a decade.

Aha, the ever-popular balance sheet induced mindshift. It's doomed.

The company hopes the new campaign will boost sales and reverse a stream of bad publicity from health campaigners, who claim McDonald's burgers contribute to the growing problem of obesity in Britain, particularly among children.

They think this will rescue a bad business model. That seals it: their ad agency is doomed.

"For the seventh biggest brand in the world to advertise without a hint of their logo shows a determination by McDonald's to encourage consumers to think twice about them and their offering," McDonald's advertising agency, Leo Burnett, said in a statement.

[DOUBLE-SNORT] Bravo, Burnett! No, really.

"Advertising in this way is a first for McDonald's and should serve to inform or remind the public that just as they themselves are changing - the way they eat and look after themselves, McDonald's is also changing."

[TRIPLE-SNORT--NOW COUGHING UP A LUNG]