Orangina ad "too gay" for French TV

For the second time in less than a month a television commercial with a gay theme has been released in France.



The latest one, from the Orangina soda company, hasn't yet made it on to the small screen as it's deemed to be too "controversial".

A couple of weeks ago the fast food chain McDonald's began airing an advertisement in France which took as its subject a gay son and his father, eating in one of their restaurants.

Now it's the turn of Orangina which last week released a commercial featuring a puma shaving and then using the soft drink as an eau de Cologne before his shirtless male friend joins him and caresses his face.

Orangina is well known in France for releasing advertisements which create waves and are often mocking and ironic in tone.

The most recent one is part of a campaign which "features different human-like animals using Orangina for unusual satiric purposes, such as mopping the floor, fighting bad breath or hair conditioning."

Unlike the McDonald's commercial though, the one from Orangina hasn't yet aired on French television.

And as the NoSite Agency responsible for creating an online buzz for the campaign told the French gay blog Yagg, it's unlikely to in the near future because it has been deemed too "daring".

La pub "gay" de Orangina

McDonald's withdraws blasphemous Happy Meal

Hamburgers and religion have proven to be a less-than-tasty combination here in France recently although they've certainly been making the news.

After the French fast food chain Quick sparked a row which took on political dimensions following its decision in November last year to take non-halal products and pork off the menu in eight of its 350 branches, McDonald's has found itself the target of criticism.

And at the centre of the controversy has been its Happy Meal for children, which has upset a Catholic priest in the southwestern département of Tarn, led him to call for a local boycott of the fast food giant and brought about a swift reaction and an apology from McDonald's itself.

It's not actually the food as such that has upset Xavier Cormary, the priest in the town of Saint-Suplice, although there are certainly those who would question its nutritional value and place within this country's cuisine. But that's quite another issue.

Instead it was the booklet that accompanied each meal and which contained a number of games and puzzles, one of which he and some of his parishioners found "bordering on the blasphemous".

The game in question shows a design, taken from the popular cartoon series and books for children, Kid Paddle, in which readers have to try to break a code to discover what a bishop is saying as he addresses a couple about to be married.

Harmless enough in the simple description perhaps, except the bishop, who along with the couple is drawn in the form of a misshapen potato, is holding a crucifix depicting Jesus as a frog, and his words, once the code is deciphered read, ""Do you accept to take Suzanne, here present, for dinner?"



Father Comary was incensed when he was made aware of the puzzle at the end of February and, being more than a little Internet-savvy, wrote exactly what he thought about it on his blog.

"Once again, the Christian faith is ridiculed," he wrote. "Marriage is violated, the bishop is mocked, and the crucifix is represented in a form that is offensive to beliefs that are at the heart of our Christian faith."

The 37-year-old didn't stop there though.

He called on parishioners to boycott branches of the fast food chain in the nearby towns of Gaillac and Lavaur, wrote directly to McDonald's France management and the publishers of the game and the original comic books.

And all to good effect it would appear, because according the local newspaper, La Dépêche, not only has he received an apology, but the booklet containing the game that had "caused offence" has been withdrawn.

Nathalie Febvre from McDonald's France customer services reportedly sent an email to the priest earlier this month in which she stressed there had been "no wish in any way to offend the sensibilities of its customers," and that "McDonald's would no longer be distributing Kid Paddle at its restaurants."

McDonald's at the Louvre - quelle horreur!

The Louvre in Paris is about to get a new neighbour, as the US fast food chain, McDonald's, plans to open an outlet in the underground mall (Carousel du Louvre) at the approach to the museum.

And "Quelle horreur" seems to be the response from many according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph.

Any trip to France of course means enjoying some of the fine grub for which this country is rightly proud.

France even has an application pending with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) to honour its cuisine.

But if you think the French take a traditionally dim view of US culture and especially its food and drink, think again.

Yes it might well seem to some a little incongruous having such a symbol of modern "culture" right next to a temple of art, but Starbucks is already in the Carrousel du Louvre.

Then there are the facts and figures for McDo's (as it's called here) that speak for themselves.

There are over 1,000 outlets here already. In fact the one opening within waddling distance of the museum will be its 1,142nd as it celebrates 30 years of business in France.

And besides why should the Louvre be spared the same fate that has already "befallen" other prestigious French sites such as the place du Capitole in the heart of Toulouse?

McDonald's, place du Capitole, Toulouse

The French clearly love burgers. McDonald's itself opened 30 new outlets last year and collectively its eateries reportedly pulled in 450 million customers making it the company's biggest market outside of the US.

The country even has its own fast food restaurant chain (although it started life as Belgian) in the shape of Quick, with over 300 restaurants.

And get this.

In last week's episode of the reality television game show Koh Lanta, the French equivalent of Survivor, what did the two contestants who won the reward challenge get as their luxury?

Yep you've guessed it. Burger and chips in the middle of the jungle.

Oh well. Perhaps it's a lost cause and the French shouldn't be too snooty about McDo's setting up shop right next to the Louvre.

Make mine a Mona Lisa burger please - with French fries of course.