Not everyone is lovin' it.
For decades, the signs under the Golden Arches have been posting more than just recent Dollar Menu additions and Happy Meal toy updates — they've been responding to national tragedies, wishing customers happiness on their birthdays and anniversaries, and asking God to protect our country.
Or, as McDonald's puts it in the promotion for their new advertisement, they've been spreading "messages of love, hope, and respect." Unfortunately for the fast food giant, the video montage has been drawing more public ire than the feel-good sentiment the company's executives told the Associated Press they had hoped for.
After airing during the NFL playoffs and Golden Globes on Sunday, critics took to Twitter to express their disappointment and accuse McDonald's of using tragedy to sell burgers.
"Did we expect all this? No," Deborah Wahl, chief marketing officer for McDonald's USA, says of the recent flood of critiques and general debate.
But because the local franchise owners are, in fact, allowed to put whatever they would like on the signs, Wahl says leaving out the bad moments would've been dishonest. She also notes the ad was intended to reflect the company's history in communities, through ups and downs, and it's still too early to determine the advertisement's success.
TELL US: What do you think of their new commercial?
This story originally appeared on GoodHousekeeping.com.
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