McDonald's Comes Out of the Closet With Its Big Gay Ad (Though Only in French)
In a marketing masterstroke, McDonald's (MCD) has found a way to give a welcoming warm fuzzy to gays and lesbians without angering American right-wingers. The company recently began airing a tasteful ad in which a gay teen visits a McDonald's with his dad. The trick that makes the strategy work: The ad, viewable below, is only airing on television in France.
It's also on YouTube, where it's become an international sensation and been viewed more than 1 million times. Staying off American TV and using the Internet to spread its message, McDonald's has done a reach-around to the audience it wanted and an end-run around Red State right-wingers who might cause a stink over the ad if it popped up on their sets. Part of McDonald's "Come as You Are" campaign in that country, the ad shows an adorable teenage boy chatting surreptitiously on the phone with his boyfriend. He hangs up when dad arrives at the table with their food. Viewers get the distinct sense that after his dad makes a crack about what a ladies' man his son should be, the teen is going to come out to his dad right there at their little plastic McDonald's table. It ends with soothing music coming up and the "Come as You Are" slogan. Message: McDonald's is a place where you can be yourself -- even if you're gay. It's cool.
Most Americans may not know it, but this message isn't coming out of the blue. McDonald's has been building a reputation for tolerance for years. The company is a member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and has supported Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a national organization that helps build gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the workplace. Both those moves earned it boycott drives from right-wing groups.
Clearly, McDonald's is hoping to avoid more of the same by only showing an ad like this on French TV. In a clever move, the French ad has been subtitled in English for YouTube so that American audiences can get what's happening. Bloggers have already noted that McDonald's has played it safe with this strategy rather than airing it on U.S. TV and taking criticism for its stance head on.
But in this Internet age, it's unclear if McDonald's will be able to keep this groundbreaking fast-food ad under wraps. The ad isn't a viral hit just because it's gay-friendly -- it's partly because it's simply a really well-executed ad that's miles more enjoyable to watch than a typical American McDonald's ad. Some reviewers are already agitating for a sequel.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the ad's fame lead to just the kind of backlash McDonald's was clearly hoping to avoid. If so, their careful deployment of the ad will allow them to plead innocent to exposing American audiences to the spot, while still getting credit for tolerance from more than a million YouTube viewers.
Video via YouTube user yaggvideo