SHARE
COPY LINK

FARMING

McDonald’s advert fakes ‘Swedish’ farmland

Burger giant McDonald’s chose to fake the Swedish countryside in their latest commercial, in which the company highlights Swedish agriculture, and their own cooperation with Swedish farmers.

McDonald's advert fakes 'Swedish' farmland

“McDonald’s in collaboration with 1,000 Swedish farmers,” concludes the commercial, which was produced by ad agency DDB.

It now turns out that the commercial was actually filmed in the Czech Republic, as the Swedish landscape didn’t work, reports Swedish magazine Land’s supplement Lantbruk och Skogland.

“It’s very simple,” McDonald’s Sweden’s press director Frida Berg told the Resumé newspaper.

“We recorded the film during the winter, and Sweden was covered in snow. We wanted to show a spring landscape, and that wasn’t possible to film in Sweden.”

“Obviously we would’ve preferred to record it here, but it simply wasn’t an option. We had to record it this winter, in order to get it finished in time, so we didn’t really have another option.”

According to Berg, the important thing is the commercial’s message:

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback and comments for raising awareness and showing the importance of Swedish agriculture.”

The tractor-driving farmer appearing in the commercial seems to be the only real Swedish element. He is reported to be a Swedish milk farmer.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

France has vowed to prevent a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur bloc from being signed with its current terms, as the country is rocked by farmer protests.

France vows to block EU-South America trade deal in current form

The trade deal, which would include agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil, is among a litany of complaints by farmers in France and elsewhere in Europe who have been blocking roads to demand better conditions for their sector.

They fear it would further depress their produce prices amid increased competition from exporting nations that are not bound by strict and costly EU environmental laws.

READ ALSO Should I cancel my trip to France because of farmers’ protests?

“This Mercosur deal, as it stands, is not good for our farmers. It cannot be signed as is, it won’t be signed as is,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told broadcasters CNews and Europe 1.

The European Commission acknowledged on Tuesday that the conditions to conclude the deal with Mercosur, which also includes Paraguay and Uruguay, “are not quite there yet”.

The talks, however, are continuing, the commission said.

READ ALSO 5 minutes to understand French farmer protests

President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that France opposes the deal because it “doesn’t make Mercosur farmers and companies abide by the same rules as ours”.

The EU and the South American nations have been negotiating since 2000.

The contours of a deal were agreed in 2019, but a final version still needs to be ratified.

The accord aims to cut import tariffs on – mostly European – industrial and pharmaceutical goods, and on agricultural products.

SHOW COMMENTS