Fast food franchise, McDonald's, does not deserve the three "Shame" awards that it was presented with at the annual children's food marketing Fame and Shame Awards, a spokesperson has said.

McDonald's took out the Jury's Bad Sport category for its association with state Little Athletics associations, the Pester Power award for its animated Happy Meal television ads and the Techno Hack award for the franchise's sponsorship of an online maths tutorial program.

"We do not believe McDonald's is deserving of these awards or that they are a reflection of the attitude of the majority of Australian parents, grandparents and guardians," Amy Lawrence, a McDonald's spokesperson said.

In response to the Techno Hack award, Lawrence said "We have received widespread support from schools and teachers ... for helping to address the numeracy issues in Australia. In fact, more than one-third of Australia's 1.46 million secondary students have signed up to improve their maths skills and boost their tertiary and employment options since the launch of the high quality, independent online maths tutoring program earlier this year."

Children's health advocacy group, The Parents Jury, announced the award recipients of four 'Shame' awards and one 'Fame' award yesterday (17 November).

Karen Sims, the Parents Jury manager, said "McDonald's winning the Techno Hack award just goes to show that despite some minor self-imposed restrictions on TV advertising, the big food companies will always find new ways to infiltrate the home and advertise their products to vulnerable children who are a lucrative market."

Nutri-Grain advertisements took out the Smoke and Mirrors 'Shame' category, while The Socceroos were presented with the Parents' Choice Award for promoting healthy eating options to children in Sanitarium's "I'm a Weet Bix Kid" TV advertisements.