Gay Group: Don't Trust McDonald's Commercial

June 22, 2010 — -- A gay business advocacy group is charging McDonald's with hypocrisy after the global fast food giant aired a gay-themed commercial in France.

"They were looking to portray themselves as an advocate of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community or an ally ... when it was completely counter to what their actions here in the U.S. were," said Justin Nelson, the president and co-founder of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. "It's completely hypocritical."

In an e-mail, a McDonald's rejected the criticism.

"McDonald's has supported a variety of programs and initiatives. We have an employee network -- The McDonald's Gay, Lesbian & Allies Network," the company said.

In the 45-second spot, a young man is shown in a McDonald's restaurant, admiring a picture of his all-male class and speaking in French to a classmate on a cell phone, telling him he misses him. The man hangs up once his father, carrying a tray of food, arrives at the table.

The father, evidently clueless about his son's phone conversation, takes a look at the class photo and remarks how, if only his son's class was co-ed, he "could get all the girls" -- prompting a faint smile from his son.

The spot ends with the phrase "come as you are," in French, flashing on the screen before the McDonald's logo appears.

After it went viral, the commercial elicited a variety of reactions. One gay blog questioned how an ad about a "closeted boy" serves the gay community, while Fox News cable channel host Bill O'Reilly asked jokingly whether McDonald's had an al Qaeda ad that also encouraged customers to "come as you are."

In a recent interview with The Chicago Tribune, McDonald's chief of operations Don Thompson said the controversy over the French ad in the United States was an example of how "markets, cultures are very different around the world." The ad, he said, would not be airing in the United States.

In its e-mail to ABCNews.com, the company added that the "commercial was produced in France for the French market. This is not a global ad and French-made TV ads don't run in the U.S., just as our company in France wouldn't run an ad from the U.S."

"Each of our 117 markets around the world determines their own path on advertising and marketing, which is nothing new at McDonald's. Advertising has always varied around the world," the company said.