McDonald's Sundae Bloody Sundae
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Overview
McDonald's Sundae Bloody Sundae is a controversial promotion for a dessert product available at McDonald's restaurants in Portugal. Many expressed outrage for the company's naming of an ice cream product after a violent historical event known as "Bloody Sunday" in which British soldiers shot and killed 14 unarmed protesters in Northern Ireland.
Background
On March 21st, 1983, the Irish rock band U2 released the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (song below).[1] The song recounts a witness' perspective of Bloody Sunday, a 1972 violent episode between British soldiers and unarmed protesters in Northern Ireland. Soldiers shot 28 people, killing 14.[2]
On October 30th, 2019, Twitter [3] user @bigmonsterlove tweeted a photograph of a McDonald's promotional material about the "Sundae Bloody Sundae." They captioned the photograph, "Portugal is cancelled." The tweet received more than 4,700 likes and 670 retweets in two days (shown below).
Developments
McDonald's Apology
McDonald's pulled the advertisement and apologized on October 31st, 2019. In a statement to the Guardian,[4] they said:
When promoting its Halloween Sundae ice cream, McDonald’s Portugal developed a local market activation for a small number of its restaurants in Portugal.
The campaign was intended as a celebration of Halloween, not as an insensitive reference to any historical event or to upset or insult anyone in any way. We sincerely apologise for any offence or distress this may have caused.
Online Reaction
Many online denounced McDonald's for the promotion, claling insenitive and a public relations fail. For example, Twitter[5] user @JaneSymons1 tweeted, "On the scale of epic #prfail, this has to be up there with @KylieJenner's Pepsi ad McDonald's apologizes for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' advert" (shown below, left). Twitter[6] user @theJeremyVine tweeted, "How can 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' not have been intended as a reference to those events? This is mad." Twitter[7] user @charlie_grafton compared the advertisement to a satirical article in the Onion about a 9/11 promotion (shown below, right).
Media Coverage
Several media outlets covered the controversy, including CNN,[8] CNBC,[9] The New York Post,[10] The New York Daily News,[11] BBC[12] and more.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Wikipedia – Sunday Bloody Sunday
[2] Wikipedia – Blood Sunday
[3] Twitter – @bigmonsterlove's Tweet
[4] The Guardian – McDonald's Portugal apologises for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' ads
[5] Twitter – @JaneSymons1's Tweet
[6] Twitter – @theJeremyVine's Tweet
[7] Twitter – @charlie_grafton's Tweet
[8] CNN – McDonald's apologizes for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' ad
[9] CNBC – McDonald’s apologizes for ‘Sundae Bloody Sundae’ Halloween promotion
[10] New York Post – McDonald’s insensitive ‘Bloody Sundae’ ad sparks outrage
[11] New York Daily News – McDonald’s mea culpa for ill-advised Sundae Bloody Sundae promotion
[12] BBC – McDonald's apologises for 'Sundae Bloody Sundae' promotion
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