I don’t know how many gay people eat at McDonalds but McDonald’s France has released a new gay ad campaign entitled “Come As You Are” which promotes McDonald’s being a place where people can feel free to be themselves.

The ad shows a young gay man eating in a McDonald’s with his father, who doesn’t know his son is gay.

The ad opens with a closeted young boy talking on the phone with his lover and looking longingly at their class picture. After telling his lover “I miss you too,” he quickly hangs up when his father returns with their order.
 
He then says to his son, “Too bad your class is all boys … you could get all the girls.” The boy wryly smiles to himself, and the advertisement slogan appears on the screen.

Fox News’   A-HOLE  Bill O’Reilly mocked the ad during a segment on his show, asking if the company had an “Al-Qaeda ad?”

Rodney Croome, spokesperson for the Australian Coalition for Equality, told the Sydney Morning Herald that the ad was “a refreshingly realistic depiction of a young man who’s in a same-sex relationship, who isn’t angst-ridden and who is in control of his life even as he faces the question all young gay people face: ‘When do I tell my dad?'”

McDonald’s brand director in France says the ad simply looks 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,” Nathalie Legarlantezec told Yagg.com.

WATCH  THE  McDONALDS  GAY COMMERCIAL
Watch the US  Parody Spoof !

PS – This DOES NOT mean McDonalds become “gay-friendly” or is rolling out the red carpet for the LGBT community!

Last July, the Hamburger Giant  signed on with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) as a diverse supplier in their LGBT vendor certification program.  But what does that mean?  Just last week Chief Operating Officer Don Thompson announced it in an interview with The Chicago Tribune. “At McDonald’s, there are core values we stand for and the world is getting much closer. So we have a lot of conversations. We’re going to make some mistakes at times. (We talk) about things that may have an implication in one part of the world and may be the cultural norm in another part of the world. And those are things that, yes, we’re going to learn from. But, you’re right, that commercial won’t show in the United States.”

The NGLCC is now distancing themselves from the Hamburger Giant:

We strongly believe that McDonald’s plan to distance itself from LGBT and other diverse business segments, coupled with the release of the French TV ad, is ill advised and counter to the spirit of good business and sound ethics. We sincerely hope that McDonald’s will reconsider its position and that the company will again show its support for LGBT people, our families and our businesses — not just where it is politically expedient, but around the globe.


Barring a significant change in policy on the part of McDonald’s, please consider this letter as official notice that the NGLCC will not accept future support or membership by McDonald’s or any of its subsidiaries. Additionally, please note that we will answer any questions about this communication, the past relationship between our organizations or any other questions by members of the NGLCC, the media or other interested parties with nothing less than factual and accurate information based on our communications and experiences with McDonald’s and its representatives.