MacDonald’s, commercial, national tragedies

A new MacDonald’s commercial that references national tragedies is being called offensive by some viewers, while the restaurant chain supposedly meant to honor the victims of these tragedies. There is a fine line that businesses must navigate when any tragic incident is referenced in an ad, so that viewers are not offended and turn against the business in question. The new commercial for MacDonald’s was aired during both the Golden Globe awards and the NFL Playoffs, and some are crying foul. The ad is called Signs, and it shows a montage of various signs outside of different MacDonald’s restaurants around the country. Some of the signs featured refer to the Boston Marathon bombing and and the 9/11 terror attacks, and the music played is a choir of children who are singing the Fun hit Carry On.

Many of the signs on the new MacDonald’s commercial had nothing to do with national tragedies, they were more personal. Some thanked US veterans, others wished a happy birthday, and there were messages of goodwill. Some of the viewers said that the ad moved them but others slammed it as tacky or in poor taste because of the attempt of the company to profit off of national tragedies. According to MacDonald’s chief marketing officer Deborah Wahl he intention was for the ad to show that the restaurant has always been there for Americans, through the tough times as well as the good ones. Wahl defended the decision by stating that leaving out the worst parts would have been dishonest or deceptive.