An advertisement for McDonalds in Taiwan has gone viral recently with over a million views around the world. The ad takes a bold approach to addressing the LGBT community in Taiwan and is in support of them.
The ad starts off with what seems to be a father and son sitting together at one of the restaurant’s classic high top, long wooden tables. Between them is a McCafe coffee cup which has the words “I like boys” written down the side of it.
The boy’s father stares at him for what seems like an eternity before he gets up and walks away without saying a word. The boy’s face crumbles as he watches his father leave. We watch the boy, waiting with him. His father then returns and sits back down at the table. He takes a marker and picks up the same McCafe coffee cup. Near where his son wrote his message, his father writes back, “I accept that you like boys”. The two men look up at each other and smile. There are no words spoken between them.
The message is a powerful one, even in a country like Taiwan where an overwhelming amount of the population support the LGBT community. However, one anti-gay group is protesting the ad and threatening to boycott McDonalds. It just goes to show that you can’t please everyone.