In a development that should surprise no one with reliable Internet access and at least intermittent contact with the real world, McDonald’s suddenly-ubiquitous “Signs” ad campaign has met with immediate, strong backlash across social media from critics who accuse the struggling fast food behemoth of tastelessly capitalizing on various national tragedies, including 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombings, in order to sell McWraps, McBites, McNuggets, and other McMenu items to jaded millennials. The offending ad, for those who have been away from their televisions lately, is simply a montage of McDonald’s signs bearing theoretically inspiring messages (including “Keep Jobs In Toledo,” “God Protect The USA,” and “Pray For Drew”), all set to a saccharine children’s choir version of “Carry On” by Fun. The intended message is that, through bad times and even worse times, the one constant in this crazy, mixed-up world is the ubiquitous, clown-centric hamburger chain. And now, just surely as smoke follows a fire, the treacly original commercial has inspired a sardonic YouTube parody. Credited only to the enigmatic Signlover 15, “McDonald’s: Signs (fo real)” closely follows the form of its predecessor, right down to the music. This time, however, the messages that flash on the screen are significantly less guilt-inducing. Among them: “Now Hiring Losers,” “Try Our New Crap,” and, of course, “Extra McRib With Proof Of Boner.”
[via Uproxx]