This isn't the first or second time that McDonald's has been in hot water over legal issues. One of the largest fast food companies had to pull a Big Mac ad that was posted on Boston's public transportation last week after being mistaken as a service ad for mental healthy services. The ad posted below shows a helpless woman holding her head in her hands. The copy reads "You're not alone, millions of people love the Big Mac".
The advertisement clearly parodies typical PSAs. It basically makes fun of those who actually need mental health counseling. While it isn't shown in the above picture, there is a phone number on the lower part of the copy. If called, it leads to McDonald's corporate offices. The ad was first noticed by a law professor, but soon enough was all over social media.
After harsh critiques and complaints, news finally got back to the burger chain. McDonald's denies ever approving the ad and blames the mistake on a marketing process error. A spokesperson for the chain said that as soon as McDonald's had learned about it, it was taken down immediately. Nicole DiNoia also went onto say, "We have an approval process in place, with our marketing and advertising agencies, to ensure that all advertising content is consistent with our brand values. Regrettably, in this incident, that process was not followed". The company has since apologized for the error.
Despite admitting there was an error in marketing, it seems like a very big mistake to get through the many people that make up such a big company.
I find it shocking that such an egregious error could make it through a whole line of people like that. It's an international company!
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I have a couple diagnosed mental disorders, and I still do not find it particularly offensive. Definitely different than the standard "I'm lovin' it", however!