At the end of the summer, Monsieur and I were in Cap Ferret when we spotted a poster for the new McDonald’s France ad campaign, called Venez comme vous êtes, or ‘Come as you are’. It showed a shrouded figure in a death mask, like those seen in SCREAM, sitting down to eat a Happy Meal (or whatever, but you get  the irony).

At the time, I remember thinking ‘that wasn’t very clever for a fast-food chain. It implies that the dead eat McDonald’s, so therefore perhaps McDonald’s put them in the grave.’

I was overreacting, though. The campaign has more to it than Death or the Scream murderer eating a Big Mac. It’s about acceptance.

Elsewhere, we saw Darth Vader enjoying his McDonald’s meal, using The Force to raise his tray off the table.

Perhaps McDonald’s is trying to encourage social pariahs to eat in their restaurants? King Kong came next but only his giant hairy hand fit into the counter area:

Those whose dress sense is more shabby than snazzy are also on McDonald’s invitation list. Here’s Cinderella after midnight, riding her glass carriage pumpkin at the drive-through.

Even the Gauls are welcomed, with Asterix and co, although poor little Dogmatix is left outside.

That’s just a selection of my favourites. The campaign isn’t new; apparently it was launched in 2008. It continues to make a buzz, which is what the burger chain intended. Some folk have even taken the slogan quite literally, turning up at the counter wearing nothing but bikini bottoms and Ronald McDonald wigs.

There are more examples, which I will post about another time. For now, we see that McDonald’s wants everyone to feel welcome – slayers, evil dictators from outer space, cartoon characters , and social pariahs in general. With company like that, I just know I’ll fit right in.