The Italian-language ad shows a child shunning the menu at an unnamed pizzeria with his parents and asking for a McDonald's Happy Meal instead.
The family is then shown eating at McDonald's, where the kid is grinning with his Happy Meal while a voiceover says, "Your child has no doubts. Happy Meal, still 4 euros."
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), or the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, claims the 20-second TV spot is a "dishonorable attack against one of the symbols of the Mediterranean Diet" and has threatened to sue the fast food chain.
"It is obvious that the American colossus is trying to discredit its main competitor, but speculating on children's health is just too much," AVPN Vice President Massimo Di Porzio said in the press statement. "It is not the first time that McDonald's [has attacked] our culinary traditions, but this time we are willing to take some legal countermeasures. Also, should we ever get money from them, the AVPN will surely use that money to establish educational nutrition courses for children."
The group slammed McDonald's for targeting children in its ads and selling them unhealthy food.
"What kind of meat do they use to prepare their hamburgers?" the association asked in a release. "What kind of oil do they use to prepare their potatoes...? How much mayonnaise do they put on their hamburgers? And how about the preservatives contained in their bread?"
The group claims that true Neapolitan pizza is healthier for kids than Happy Meals, which it compares to "junk food."
"The true napolitan pizza, which is a product guaranteed by our international regulations, it is a 'handcrafted' product which only uses selected raw materials, like mozzarella di bufala, fiordilatte, tomatoes from Campania and extra virgin oil," the group says.
Here's the ad.