US fast food restaurant chain McDonald’s has pledged to remove an advert for its new McCrispy chicken sandwich which was placed opposite a crematorium in England.
The McCrispy ad was placed at a bus stop in Cornwall, England, next to a sign directing motorists to Penmount Crematorium, according to local news outlet Cornwall Live.
A woman whose mother-in-law was cremated at the crematorium last year said on her way out, “Although I can see the funny side [of the advertisement]it’s tasteless and I’m sure some grieving family members won’t like to see it when they visit Penmount for the funeral and cremation of a loved one.”
In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for the Chicago-based McDonald’s chain said the company was unaware that the McCrispy bus stop ad in question was so close to a crematorium sign.
“In light of the concerns raised by Cornwall Live, we have requested that our advertisement be removed,” the representative’s statement added.
Some netizens found the placement of the ad to be darkly comical. One wrote on Facebook saying: “My parents are in this crematorium. My old man had a great sense of humor so I’m sure he would have laughed at that!”
Another wrote, “Well he paid them a lot more attention didn’t he! Bad thoughtless placement hmm I don’t think so! I have just recently lost 2 loved ones and to be honest if I saw this sign near the crematorium I would have smiled. I don’t find it offensive at all.”
Meanwhile, another user said: “Thank God [it] it didn’t advertise Burger King and it was “flame grilled”.
It was not immediately clear how long the sign had been up or when it would be removed.
It’s not the first time McDonald’s has faced backlash for an ad.
In 2017, McDonald’s apologized after an ad featured a boy asking his mother about his dead father.
As the mother in the ad described to the child what his father was like, the boy looked visibly saddened by the apparent lack of similarities between him and his dad. However, the day was saved when the mother and son stopped at a McDonald’s restaurant where he ordered a Filet-O-Fish sandwich and she said, “That was your dad’s favorite too.”
Psychotherapists and parents condemned the ad, claiming it “exploits children’s grief”.
In response, McDonald’s pulled the ad and said in a statement: “It was never our intention to cause any disruption. We deeply regret that the ad may have disappointed those people who are most important to us: our customers.”