McDonald's will pull a TV ad that critics said exploited child bereavement after coming under intense pressure on social media and grief support groups.
Bereavement charity Grief Encounter said it was “pleased” by the fast food chain’s decision, having received “countless calls” from parents of bereaved children over the 'Dad' advert.
Critics had also taken to Facebook and Twitter to slam the ad, which shows a boy talking with his mother about his late father while sitting in one of the fast food chain's restaurants.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said: "We can confirm today that we have taken the decision to withdraw our 'Dad' TV advert.
"The advert will be removed from all media, including TV and cinema, completely and permanently this week.
"It was never our intention to cause any upset.”
It said that due to the lead-times required by some broadcasters, the last advert will air on Wednesday.
"We will also review our creative process to ensure this situation never occurs again," the firm said.
McDonald's had earlier apologised for "any upset" caused by the ad, which first screened on May 12.
The ad's conversation between the boy and his mother begins with him wondering what he had in common with his father.
He is then shown sitting in a McDonald's restaurants with his mother, where she reveals that they shared a love of the same burger, a Filet-o-Fish, with the mother saying: "That was your dad's favourite too."
The campaign had been scheduled to run for seven weeks.
Dr Shelley Gilbert, founder and president of the charity Grief Encounter, said: "McDonald's have attempted to speak to their audience via an emotionally driven TV campaign.
"However, what they have done is exploit childhood bereavement as a way to connect with young people and surviving parents alike, unsuccessfully.”
She added that "trying to insinuate that a brand can cure all ills with one meal is insensitive”.
One Twitter user slamming the ad wrote: "Absolutely awful #mcdonalds advert exploiting grief in this way really scraping the barrel, very poor show #mcdonalds."
Another wrote: "McDonalds advert is totally inappropriate using children's grief to sell burgers @cbukhelp Complaint lodged with @Ofcom."
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it had received around 100 complaints regarding the advert as of Monday from viewers.
Read More
A spokeswoman said: "We're carefully assessing the complaints, but no decision has been reached on whether there are grounds to launch an investigation."
