Some say he's as famous as Santa Claus, but McDonald's flame haired mascot is under attack. Ronald McDonald is taking some of the heat for childhood obesity.

The same watchdog group that sent Joe Camel packing for marketing cigarettes to children is now after the McDonald's mascot. They say he's targeting kids and feeding into the epidemic of childhood obesity.

"McDonald's is the corporation that essentially invented childhood marketing," Deborah Lapidus, Senior Organizer, Corporate Accountability International said.

The group conducted its own poll and found nearly half of those surveyed say Ronald should go.

"Targeting to children is unethical and I don't think it's the right thing to do," Fiona Pippa, who supports retiring Ronald, said.

The protest in Los Angeles is one of a dozen such events nationwide, but so far, they are shrugging it off at corporate headquarters.

The company told CBS News, "Ronald is the beloved brand ambassador for McDonald's and we have no plans to retire him."

He's also the symbol of a worldwide charity the Ronald McDonald house. It started back in 1974 with one house for the families of sick children; it has now grown to 271 houses in 30 countries.

So asking for Ronald to just go away may be difficult:

"If you're going to boycott Ronald you may as well go ahead and boycott everybody," one person said.

But those looking to get rid of the hamburger clown say they have a weighty case-he's promoted unhealthy hamburgers and fries since 1963 and he's well past retirement age.