McDonald’s Gay Commercial

June 04, 2010

A McDonald’s commercial featuring a young gay boy out to lunch with his father aired exclusively in France has gone viral on YouTube, receiving over 600,000 hits.
 

The ad shows a boy looking at a class photo. He receives a call and tells the person on the other end how much he misses him.
 

The boy’s father sits down with a tray of food and tells the boy he could have any girl in his class he wants because of his looks.
 

“Too bad they’re all boys,” the father says.
 

According to McDonald’s publicity team in France, the purpose of the ad is to reach out to all segments of French society and to illustrate France’s progression with gay rights.
 

"We wanted to take a look at how French society is today. We're very comfortable with the topic of homosexuality, there is obviously no problem with homosexuality in France today," the statement read.
 

"The point was not to show someone who is troubled, especially a teenager. We know it can be difficult for some people, but we wouldn't have dared show someone who is struggling."
 

Despite the statement’s claim of homosexuality being of no concern in France, LGBT there cannot legally marry as in other European countries.
 

"It's very encouraging for gay youth to see themselves reflected in such mainstream media," said Helen Kennedy, executive director of the gay advocacy group EGALE Canada. "It's great that McDonald's is putting it out there, and kudos to the creative team. It's certainly a step in the right direction."

She adds: "We know that our queer youth are being . . . verbally harassed and physically assaulted in schools across Canada, so anything that will help to address this issue we totally support," she said.
 

Image Author: René Sinn