Source: happymeal.com

As wearable health tracker technology has grown in popularity over the past few years, the devices have begun appearing on the shelves of many retailers interested in being associated with health and wellness. McDonald’s, as part of its continuing effort to position itself as more on-trend with today’s health-conscious consumer, began placing activity trackers at the bottom of Happy Meals in the U.S. and Canada earlier in the month. But the initiative, which was at least in part a response to critics who have long pegged McDonald’s food aimed at children as unhealthy, has become an exercise in crisis management.

After appearing in Happy Meals for only a short time, McDonald’s began receiving reports that the wristband of the Step-It health tracker was giving children skin irritations, according to USA Today. McDonald’s has pulled the fitness trackers from Happy Meals in response to the complaints.

Previously, the blog, Wearable, and other review websites reported that Step-It was a visibly cheaper product than adult fitness trackers with correspondingly limited features.

It is not clear whether McDonald’s will attempt to reintroduce the fitness trackers after changes have been made, or if the company will attempt to promote exercise among young people through other means.

Some doubted the concept had legs anyway. Nicole Ferry of branding firm Sullivan called the addition of fitness trackers to Happy Meals a “misplaced brand message” in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. The article noted that children would be likely to see the device as a toy rather than something to seriously encourage exercise.

Such a device would also seem to raise questions about the developmental appropriateness of fitness tracker-based exercise programs for children.

The fitness tracker isn’t the only step McDonald’s has taken to make the kid-targeted meal a little healthier. The company cut the amount of fries in the kids’ meal in half in 2011 and began offering fruit and Go-Gurt as options, according to USA Today.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What can retailers learn from McDonald’s public relations crisis surrounding the fitness tracker and promotions aimed at children? Will this negatively affect McDonald’s attempt to rebrand itself as healthy?