While most viewers could smile watching the McDonald’s 30-second ad commonly called as the “BF-GF Commercial’’, the giant fast food chain decided to stop airing it on Philippine television since it became a controversial issue for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
The officials of the CBCP appealed that the said commercial may present a wrong message to the viewers especially to the children. The latest McDonald’s commercial saddened them.
Giant television networks stopped airing it since McDonald’s pulled out the said advertisement on Tuesday night.
The vice president for marketing of McDonald’s Philippines, Margot Torres, proclaimed through a radio station that the BF-GF Commercial was pulled out Tuesday from GMA-7 at around noontime while its rival ABS-CBN stopped airing it at 6 p.m.
With respect to the request of the CBCP officials, specifically to the Bishop of Caloocan, Deogracias Iñiguez, McDonald’s company made a decision to get rid of their 30-second TV commercial from giant networks airing in the Philippines according to Torres. Moreover, she stated that the old commercial will be aired instead.
Torres added that the public will be able to see the previous McDonald’s ad on TV as a replacement for the BF-GF Commercial.
Bishop Iñiguez on the other hand was then pleased when the said announcement have been made. He expressed gratitude to the decision that was brought by the said fast food company since they were able to give consideration to the views of the Catholic Church on teaching the values centering the family.
The latest McDonald’s commercial became controversial for its scene which showed a young girl asking a boy at her age if she could be his girlfriend. Knowing that the girl may demand a lot of things, the little boy replied that he was not ready for what the girl had asked. Meanwhile, the boy agreed when she told him that all she ever wanted was only the P25 French fries.
Another member of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, Fr. Melvin Castro, added his view that the mentioned McDonald’s ad had been very shallow. He said that it cheapened human relationships as well.
