- McDonald's India released an ad last Monday to promote its $2 McVeggie meals.
- The ad depicts a man gaining interest in a female cashier at McDonald's while getting food.
A recent ad by McDonald's India has sparked outrage online, with social-media users accusing the company of objectifying female employees and promoting workplace harassment.
The ad was released on June 5 on YouTube and showed a man gaining interest in a female cashier while ordering a McVeggie.
In the video, the man heads to the end of the line after finishing his meal. A male employee then gestures for him to step up to the empty counter, although he turns down the offer, hoping to interact with the female cashier again.
"Sometimes, the greatest love stories start with the tiniest things — a glance, a smile, a meal," the ad for the $2 McVeggie meal read.
The ad and its slogan, "Date sort of… @ Rs 179," has infuriated the internet.
—akshay sethi (@akshay_sethii) June 7, 2023
"This is outrageous and disgusting beyond words," one Twitter user wrote, accusing McDonald's India of "objectifying your female staff for profit by suggesting your customers can flirt and find a date here."
"Apparently young female staffers are part of McDonald's India's product offering," another user tweeted.
Others also said that the ad might worsen the harassment female employees face at work.
—Dr. Divya Sharma (@divya_sharmaMD) June 8, 2023
"Disgusting and against dignity of labour. Womenfolk who work in customer service roles already face such harassment," one user tweeted.
"This sends a wrong precedence to a society who already see gig workers as a low life individuals who could be exploited. I have seen guys flirting with servers to flight attendants and this ad will give affirmation to their actions," another user wrote.
This is not the first ad in India that's been accused of having misogynistic undertones.
Last year, a now-withdrawn campaign by the perfume brand Layer'r Shot was accused of promoting rape culture, per Hindustan Times. Another series of ads by the liquor brand Imperial Blue has also received criticism for its "men will be men" slogan and sexist jokes, per The Print, an online-media platform in India.
In his independence day speech last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Indians to fight misogyny: "For some reason, a distortion has crept into our conduct, our behavior, our words, so at times we insult women. Can we take a pledge to stop this behavior?"