As would be expected, the fundamentalists here in the good ole’ USA have already begun attacking the McDonald’s Ad, even though the ad is only showing in France. O’Reilly and FOX Network used the ad to compare gays to Al Quaeda and asked a McDonald’s representative if there would now be an Al Quaeda ad airing, and also stated his opinion that a gay ad like that shown in France will never be shown in America.
Some have asked, What does being gay have to do with eating at McDonald’s? It’s a very ignorant question, IMHO. What does a gecko have to do with car insurance? Why, when Maine is the whitest state in the country, do we show ads here with mixed race couples? The point of McDonald’s ad is to show that their business accepts and affirms the gay and lesbian community. They are a business and many companies, starting with Budweiser in the US, realize that the GLBT community possesses a large amount of buying power.
When it comes to finances, large businesses are beginning to see that a same-sex couple, in general, has a lot more disposable income than a fundamentalist opposite-sex couple having several children. The bottom line for any business is money and it is economically favorable to be inclusive of GLBT individuals. In fact, discrimination often damages business. While the US is a bit behind the times and it will be a while before we catch up with countries like France, I wholeheartedly disagree with O’Reilly’s prediction that we will never see ads like this become mainstream in America. Lots of companies already air such ads on networks like LOGO and Bravo. Levi’s, Pepsi, Hyundai, the list goes on…