Came across this advert via @HarryBradshaw on twitter – interesting to see McDonald’s trying something different, though what they’re hoping to get out of it, I am unsure.
As a gay man myself, and having seen the advert, I think I am still no more likely to pop in and order a Big Mac meal now than I was before…! You wouldn’t normally associate the brand ‘McDonald’s’ with homophobia or in fact any kind of social judgement, so I am rather unsure why they’re now releasing a ‘Come As You Are’ series of ads.
The adverts don’t even have any kind of redemption – the lad goes in a closet gay, and comes out a closet gay. It just seems wholly unnecessary to even mention it to be honest. Unless the chap on the other end of the phone is Ronald McDonald (there’s a joke in there about the Hamburglar, I’m sure!) then there really isn’t even the slightest connection with the brand to the story.
It’s also strange for them to launch this campaign in France (which one would have thought would be rather snooty towards the idea of the fast food chain). It’ll be interesting (read that as “fun!”) to see what happens when the Christians in America see what their beloved American “family-values” worldwide-super-brand has been up to behind their backs! 😉
All of that said, the advert is rather cute, and as is the guy in it heh!
UPDATE: 28/06/2010
Thanks to @Jekyll10 on twitter for highlighting this parody – love it! 😀
Gari Wellingham 
I can see what you’re saying here, but I’m not sure I share your thoughts on it. Every 12 months one in two French people goes to Mcdonalds at least once so it’s no more snooty about food than other countries when it comes to the golden arches. I think the point of the advert isn’t trying to counter any social judgement, it’s more about advertising the company as open to everyone. I agree with a lack of connection to be brand and – in some ways – it being a pointless advert. But it’s an advertising trend to show things that in no way relate to the brand, product or a story.
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Can you quote where you got your one in two from please? France does not feature on any of the fast food statistics that I am aware of – consumption in most other Western/Asian countries is far far higher than in France. McDo (as they call it) is loved/loathed in pretty equal measure over there – they only got their first restaurant in 1979 and they’re only classed as a joint market leader with an otherwise unheard of Belgian fast food retailer in that market – not the large conglomerate that they are here. Plus they have had to tailor their restaurants to the French tastes, making them much different than anywhere else in the World 🙂
The problem is, the advert suggests that McDonalds feel that there is a need to spend money and advertise as being open to everyone. I’d never considered that it wasn’t in the first place, so really, the advert is completely unnecessary and may actually do more harm than good.
Just my thoughts.
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The 1 / 2 was from an NY Sun article I remembered reading a cpl years ago (http://www.nysun.com/national/mcdonalds-takes-paris/57654/). I love the fact French McD’s are different to elsewhere in the world 🙂 but young French people love American culture – even M – as much as in the rest of the world.
I can totally see what you mean, but I didn;t see the advert as answering anybody’s thoughts on them *not* being open to everyone. It’s similar in culture to adverts I’ve seen in Sweden in particular, unrelated to the brand, but purposely so.
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Ah yes, I wasn’t implying that they don’t – apols if it came across as that – ultimately, I seem to have edited the sentence down to within inches of sense trying to avoid doing that heh! I love that they call it McDo though – it’s what I’m going to start calling it heh!
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