McDonald's Taiwan Faces Backlash Over Ad Showing a Son Coming Out to His Dad

Grabbing a cup of coffee at the fast-food restaurant turns into a moment of courage.

Mar 8, 2016·

Culture and education editor Liz Dwyer has written about race, parenting, and social justice for several national publications. She was previously education editor at Good.

Plenty of research has shown that coming out as gay at a young age tends to make people feel less stressed out and depressed. But in a world where homophobia is still present—and where youths still get disowned by their families for not being heterosexual—it can be scary to be honest with a parent. Perhaps sitting in McDonald’s drinking a cup of coffee can smooth the conversation?

That’s the suggestion behind a McDonald's McCafé ad that made its debut in Taiwan on Friday. The emotion-heavy 90-second clip depicts a son using a cup of the fast-food giant’s java to come out to his father.

According to a translation by Hong Kong Free Press, the son writes, “I like boys,” in Chinese on the cup. The dad’s reaction isn’t positive initially—he storms off, leaving his upset son sitting alone. But then we see the dad return with his own cup of joe and sit back down across from his son. The father then takes his son’s cup and modifies the text, writing, “I accept that you like boys.” The ad ends with the heartwarming tagline “Let there be more warmth in conversations.”

Brenda Kou, the head of marketing at McDonald’s in Taiwan, said that the company hopes the advertisement shows that society can accept different voices, according to a translation of the Taiwanese website Apple Daily by Hong Kong Free Press. That message seems to be resonating. About 1.4 million people have watched the video on YouTube since its debut, and most of the comments are positive.

But not everyone in the country is praising the commercial. A conservative coalition, the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of Family, is calling for people to boycott McDonald’s because the ad is “openly promoting gay issues,” reported Shanghaist. "Because McDonald's is frequented by many children, it is especially important to oppose the promotion of same-sex behavior," continued the statement.

Still, the ad seems to reflect a growing acceptance of same-sex relationships in Taiwan. A recent poll by Taiwan's Ministry of Justice found that nearly 60 percent of respondents said they support same-sex marriage, reported Shanghaist. Despite recent efforts to change the law, and a new president who has been vocal about her support of marriage equality efforts, it's still illegal for same-sex couples in Taiwan to tie the knot.