A gay-themed McDonald's television advertisement is whipping up controversy around the world.
The 47-second clip, running only in France under the slogan "come as you are", shows a teenage boy and his father dining together in a McDonald's restaurant.
The boy takes a call from his lover while his father goes to order their food.
He fingers their class photograph and says affectionately "I miss you too", but gets off the phone quickly when his father returns to the table.
The boy's father then looks over the photograph and reminisces about his youth.
"You look just like me at your age,” he says.
“I was quite the ladies' man."
He then tells his son: “Too bad your class is all boys. You could get all the girls.”
The boy smiles to himself as the words "come as you are" appear on the screen.
A McDonald's Australia spokeswoman said the advertisement was one in a series of clips produced under the "come as you are" banner, which aims to "recognise the diversity of McDonald's customers in France".
The company's Australian campaigns are produced in Australia and there are no plans to run a similar line here, the spokeswoman said.
Website Planet Homo questioned the value of depicting a "closeted boy who has not told his father about his sexuality", but added: "We do love his voice and accent."
Australian Coalition for Equality spokesman Rodney Croome welcomed the ad's lack of judgment and stereotypes.
"This is a refreshingly realistic depiction of a young man who's in a same-sex relationship, who isn't angst-ridden and who is in control of his life even as he faces the question all young gay people face: 'When do I tell my dad?'" Mr Croome said.
"What makes this even more ground-breaking is that it places gay people in the context of one of the world's most mainstream institutions, McDonald's."
"The irony about this ad receiving so much attention is its message is that being gay is just another part of life."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH336O-ry90
