McDonald’s Taiwan ‘coming out’ ad shows brave work does exist in Asia, says Wayne Arnold
Leo Burnett’s coming out ad for McDonald’s Taiwan
Leo Burnett’s recent ad for McDonald’s in Taiwan, in which a boy reveals his homosexuality to his father at a McCafé, is just one example that quashes the myth that there is no bravery in Asian advertising, the CEO of MullenLowe Profero has said.
In a post on LinkedIn, Wayne Arnold, the digital agency’s Singapore-based global chief executive, wrote that one of the first things he was told when he moved to Singapore three years ago was that Asian marketers are among the world’s most risk-averse, and selling great creative work could be difficult.
“There is an element of truth to this. However, the Asian market, like elsewhere in the world, does produce great work,” he said, using the McDonald’s Taiwan work, which prompted protests from religious groups, as an example.
Not only does the ad tackle a subject that is taboo in many Asian markets, but it’s brave in promoting acceptance, Arnold wrote.
“What makes this work even more surprising is McDonalds aren’t widely recognised for their creativity in the advertising realm. If I am being honest I think the majority of their work is clipart advertising and misleading trying to making cheep food look like food porn. So it’s invigorating to see them take a chance and trust the power of their message.”
Arnold
Arnold went on to suggest that brave work is “happening more and more often,” and the McDonald’s work is a “challenge” to other marketers to take more risks with their agencies, “in a region where risk-taking and bucking convention can reap huge rewards.”
He began the post by debunking other myths about Asian advertising that he was told when he first arrived in Singapore – that there is almost no creative talent in Asia, the Asian talent that’s available are great at copying but unoriginal, and clients will only buy creative ideas that are backed up by data.
FWIW, I found this ad did not really mine the idea at all. What a superficial glimpse, at what is, no doubt, a very contentious subject. This might have been good as a 3 minute video….but as a 30 second ad it just rings hollow.
ReplyAgain, a brand uses gay people to get noticed. Now we have to sit back and watch the agency PR the shit out this so they can win an award for it. I agree with Village guy who posted earlier. Contentious and shallow as hell. Who the F is McDonalds to take the social high ground? A groups’ sexuality has no business at McDs. Besides, few gays I know would even be caught dead eating McD anything. These people need to re-look at their food menu before they embark on such social commentary.
ReplyMacs is exploiting the gay issue in the same way they grind patties from a dead cow or make nuggets from chicken scraps.
ReplyIf Macs wanted to be supportive, go the whole hog. Articulate your HR practises and how else the company is breaking down barriers.
Nothing? No change? BAU?
You ain’t doing gays any favours and you are just pissing off mainstreamers.
Of course the agency will make a case study video , PR it to death, tout this as ‘changing the world’, ‘starting a conversation’… yada yada and snap their spine by patting themselves on their backs.
Wanna make a real change? Support minimium wages.
Know before you post. The Human Rights Campaign, the world’s largest LGBT organization, lists top U.S. companies for their LGBT policies in their Corporate Equality Index: http://hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/CEI-2016-FullReport.pdf
ReplyMcDonald’s scored a 100 out of a possible 100 points – a perfect score. And regarding the person who said the 30 second spot should be 3 minutes in length; it’s a commercial, not a documentary.
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