Stating clearly that McDonald’s advertising will not acknowledge the existence of lesbian or gay diners in the United States — and that such advertising may be withdrawn elsewhere around the world — the company’s chief operations officer Don Thompson had this to say to the Chicago Tribune:
Thompson: (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.
Chicago Tribune: How has it done in France?
Thompson: Interestingly enough, there have been no negatives coming out of France. The brand is a local brand and different things will occur in different parts of the world. We just have to make sure that we understand the impact one action may make on another part of the world.
Translation: McDonald’s does not wish to offend bigots in its central African and Islamist market territories, so in the interest of global cohesion, McDonald’s will ostracize certain minorities from its advertising all over the world.
Gays are not the only demographic that is stigmatized in nether regions of the world; Jews are verboten throughout the Arab world, and Hispanics are unwelcome in the American Southwest.
Can we expect them to be ostracized, as well, by a Christian Right operations chief who bases corporate “core values” upon the prejudices of the world’s most primitive and oppressive places?
Hat tip: Box Turtle Bulletin
