McDonald’s pulls ‘exploitative’ UK ad featuring boy trying to connect with deceased dad
McDonald’s in the UK has pulled an ad created by Leo Burnett London featuring a boy trying to find a connection with his deceased father, after the fast-food chain was accused of exploiting bereaved children, according to Adweek.
After coverage by multiple outlets including AdWeek and The Guardian, and viewers’ reactions – labelling it “offensive”, “exploitative” and “cynical” – McDonald’s conceded and pulled the ad.
After an earlier apology for the ad, McDonald’s issued a statement confirming it was removing the spot from all media.
Wow. I… Wow.
That’s a shame because the underlying health message of the piece is that the only thing the boy had in common with his late father was the food that killed him.
In the words of Shakespeare: “It is a judgment maimed and most imperfect.”
The ad is brilliantly conceived, beautifully shot, well directed and acted, and represents the irrefutable facts of life, which include death, the right of passage and the questions that any child might well ask, and the replies that a loving and intelligent Mother might give.
The protest to this moving and intelligent ad is a glaring example of the social media gossip and the shallow suburban philosophy that passes as enlightened opinion today.
This is the kind of creative that ought to be a shining example of the state of the art, an inspiration to the craft; not the victim of a trial by remote, parochial, and unimaginative gabblers.
I totally agree. I thought it was a beautifully created ad.
agree
Nah, the scripting wouldn’t even have made the cut for East Enders.
Do you consider East Enders to be a failure? Not my cup of tea, but hardly a failure or a cheap show.
No part of you thinks that it’s a teeny bit exploitative? That utilising a story of grief for commercial gain is stepping over some boundaries that normal society has set for maybe fair reasons, rather than this being some puritanical tirade?
It’s nicely shot, well acted and scripted (although clearly not the fillet-o-fish bit), but even in our Trumpian world surely it was obvious that this was going to do more damage to Macca’s than good – and hence why they’ve pulled it.
It is not a story of grief, it is a story of life. Never does it become maudlin, never do we see tears, the mother ( beautifully played) deliberately keeps the all important conversation with her questioning son, light and warm, she, rather than the boy, is taken by surprise when she sees the “fillet o fish,” his choice by the way (for those who for some reson sling off at the choice) and smudges his chin with tartare sauce, in a way that strikes her memory of her dead husband, and arrests her conversation. This is not trading upon grief, it is acknowledging the facts of family life, and celebrating good parenting.
Totally Agree.
It’s certainly shocking he ordered a Fillet-O-Fish. Who does that?
Agree!
A beautifully created piece, I was a bit surprised at that but it was intentional.