McDonald's Going Too Far To Market Their McNuggets?

When an "urban-focused" commercial for McDonald's begins with a black guy singing, "I woke up and found you creepin' / Oh girl, I know your secret," you just know someone's going to cry foul.

Take a look:

And here's another, also posted on the company's YouTube channel.

Both commercials are generating a range of reaction online, including these comments:

"If you don't find this commercial at least just a little funny, I seriously question your sense of humor."

"It's sad that this is how the marketing exec's at the McDonald's corporate office THINK they can attract the urban consumer."

"Aarrgghh!""

"I [expletive] hate these ads. Especially the one with the two little black kids talking to the cashier about how they're going to run a McDonald's when they get older. I hate McDonald's."

So what do you think? Funny or offensive? A hat tip to Stereohyped for this story, which we are covering on today's bloggers' roundtable.

We reached out to McDonald's for a response. Danya Proud, spokesperson for McDonald's USA, told News & Notes, "We have a responsibility to all of our customers to effectively reach them. We certainly take pride in all of our advertising and try to make it relevant and appealing." She later added: "We work with a dedicated African-American advertising agency that works with us to develop relevant, contemporary creative for our brand, that will resonate with this demographic. Again, as with all our advertising, these commercials reflect a light-hearted, fun approach to our brand, our menu and our customers' experience with our brand."

Geoffrey Bennett

Tags: McDonald's

12:19 PM ET | 12- 3-2008 | permalink

comments | | e-mail