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If you are a resident of France and caught the subtle McDonald's commercial on the little black box, chances are, you may not have given the blurb promoting the fast-food take-out joint a second thought.
Unless, you were quick on the uptake, of course.
Those frenchies are so low-key, after all.
In the two-minute spot, a cute young man plucks up a ringing cell phone - and dreamily glances down at a class photo in his hand - as he sighs and speaks into the receiver with a romantic tinge in his voice:
"I miss you."
On the other end of the line, a male voice chimes in.
"I miss you, too."
At this point, an older gent strolls over to the table with a tray loaded down with french fries, soft drinks, and a couple-of tasty-looking burgers with all the fixin's in tow.
As he glides into his seat, he casually peers down at the photograph and utters up a sly comment.
"I used to be quite the ladies man when I was younger. Too bad the class was all boys," he chuckled, without a clue in the world.
The man is the young boy's father, after all.
And, the handsome lad is a gay teen, connecting with his boyfriend on his cell for a second or two.
In France, the ad was broadcast with barely a ripple of controversy.
Elsewhere, however, a roar erupted around all corners of the globe when some dude published the video on YouTube.
In two seconds flat, McDonald's was able to boast a million plus clicks as die-hard gay and gay-curious burger-eaters chased the video down for a scant look-see.
"We wanted to show society the way it is today, without judging...there's obviously no problem with homosexuality in France today," the brand director for McDonald's (France) noted for the record on a French Web site.
According to Canada.com, the clip is the first ad from McDonald's to feature a gay character.
Needless to say, support from the gay community has been very positive.
"It's great that McDonald's is putting it out there, and kudos to the creative team. It's certainly a step in the right direction," Helen Kennedy, executive director of EGALE Canada, remarked.
Australia's Brisbane Times explains dismissed the ad as just one in a series that aims to "recognise the diversity of McDonald's customers in France".
Australian Coalition for Equality spokesman Rodney Croome called the ad "refreshingly realistic" and "groundbreaking" in that it takes place in "one of the world's most mainstream institutions.
In a a poll conducted by the Brisbane Times - 82% of the residents - found the ad charming.
And, you thought, the arches symbolized "back to the breast"!
On the other end of the spectrum, 18% found the imaginative commercial "alarming".
According to the New York Times, Planet Homo, was angry too.
In their mind's eye, the subliminal message was crystal clear.
Young men are still reluctant to reveal their sexuality to their fathers.
in and caught the spot on an overhead screen, I got the impression that it was a young man out on a date with his sugar daddy!
Just call me a sophisticated man of the world!
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