French Gay McDonalds ad gets an American spoof

I remain unconvinced that you love us

A short while ago, a French McDonalds ad featuring a young gay man was touted in the media as “gayfriendly” and “a breakthrough“. In the ad, a young man is ordering food with his father in a McDonalds fast food restaurant when his lover calls him on the phone, the two chitchat until the boys father arrives, who is oblivious to his son’s gayness. 

Commercial ploy or sincere declaration? And what about the American video response just published? 

Check out both ads after the jump. What do you think?

The tagline of the ad is eventually shown to be “Come as you are”, with soulful indie coming-of age music playing in the background and ostensibly promoting the fast food franchise as a gay friendly restaurant. While I personally don’t understand how the advertisement can really be considered gay friendly, given that the boy is not out to his heteronormative, oblivious father, many gays and straights were excited about this new advertisement. Call me cynical, but I see this as little but a thinly veiled attempt to tap into the “gay market”,and lure in more gay customers without actually challenging anything. But the French ad controversy has had one positive side effect, namely an American spoof called “Je suis a McTwink” which is funny and quite unobliviously gay. 

The French McDonalds Ad 

The American Response