McDonald’s has been forced to remove a shiny billboard spruiking its chicken after an unfortunate blunder led to its “tasteless” placement.
The unfortunate yet darkly humorous coincidence revealed by CornwallLive showed a billboard for Maccas’ McCrispy chicken at a bus stop in Truro.
What the fast-food giant didn’t know was that its prime location was also next to a sign for, and directly opposite, the Penmount Crematorium, sparking an outcry from locals.
Some called it “tasteless” while others could see the humour in the placement of the McCrispy commercial.
“Although I can see the funny side, it is tasteless and I’m sure some grieving family members won’t like to see it when visiting Penmount for the funeral and cremation of a loved one,” a woman, whose mother-in-law was cremated at Penmount last year, told the publication.
“My parents are in this crematorium. My old man had a brilliant sense of humour, so I’m sure he would have chuckled at this!” another said.
“Fell off the chair laughing,” one commenter wrote.
The burger giant agreed to remove the sign after the coincidence was revealed.
“We were unaware of the road sign in the vicinity of this bus stop. However, in light of the concerns raised by CornwallLive, we have asked for our advertisement to be removed,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told the British publication.
By Monday (Australian time), the unfortunate billboard had been removed. But many locals were left a bit shocked at its replacement.
Tweet from @CornwallLive
In place of the McCrispy burger image was a new ad that urged people to “get your locals pass”. It is apparently a plug for local art gallery, rather than the crematorium.
“You couldn’t make this up” one bemused local told CornwallLive.
“I don’t know what’s worse, this one of the first one,” said a second.
A visiting Dutch tourist urged the billboard owner to to raise its rates, given the extensive exposure buyers were getting.
Cornwall Council, which runs the crematorium and is responsible for the bus shelter, said it was unable to comment on the issue.
